Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

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LaTresia Austin, 39, was a breast cancer survivor. She elected to undergo a one-hour reconstructive breast surgery at a San Diego hospital. When her breathing tube was removed postoperatively, her vocal cord spasmed. Unfortunately, the tube was reinserted into her esophagus, and allegedly it took more than ten minutes for doctors to realize she was experiencing oxygen deprivation.

When the error was discovered, Austin was transferred to the ICU where she died of a hypoxic brain injury. Her death was caused by the breathing tube mishap and the ten-minute delay in reacting to the emergency: oxygen deprivation to the brain. She was survived by her husband and child.

Austin’s estate sued the Regents of the University of California, alleging improper monitoring and choosing not to timely check the breathing tube, which was the cause of her brain injury and finally her wrongful death.
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Craig Beaubien was referred to a hematologist, Dr. Charu Trivedi, to determine the cause of an abnormal blood test showing a high hematocrit level. When the hematocrit value is high, the proportion of red blood cells in the blood is higher than normal. This can indicate dehydration, a disorder that causes the body to produce too many red blood cells, such as polycythemia vera, or lung or heart disease.

Dr. Trivedi allegedly determined that kidney cancer was one of the possible causes for the hematocrit result, but did not order any diagnostic testing to rule out the cancer.

Approximately seven months later, Beaubien developed headaches. He underwent imaging, which showed an 8.3 cm tumor in his kidney. The tumor was cancerous and had metastasized to the brain. As a result, Beaubien underwent radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery. Despite this treatment, he died. He was survived by his wife.
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The family of a man who died of a heart attack while hospitalized after an appendectomy was held not to have a viable medical malpractice case against the attending physician.

In July 2017, Timothy Dobine, 43, died while under the care of medical staff at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Ill. Dobine’s family sued in state and federal court.

The family sued the U.S. government under the Federal Torts Claim Act alleging that the attending physician, Dr. Morgan Madison, who worked for a federally qualified healthcare center, provided negligent medical care and was the proximate cause of Dobine’s untimely death.
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Doe went to a medical clinic complaining of increased fatigue, weakness and shortness of breath. A resident physician allegedly obtained an electrocardiogram (EKG), which was abnormal, and ordered a routine cardiology referral. The resident’s supervising physician allegedly did not see or evaluate Doe.

Four months later, Doe collapsed at home from suspected cardiac arrest. Emergency resuscitation was unsuccessful.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of Doe and family alleged that the resident and attending physician chose not to recognize that the EKG findings were consistent with a third-degree heart block, in which the upper chambers of the heart loses communications with the lower chambers. This condition necessitated an urgent referral to a cardiologist for placement of a pacemaker, the plaintiff maintained.
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Ms. Doe, 70, suffered from atrial fibrillation and had two mechanical heart valves. She was prescribed Coumadin to prevent a stroke. When Dr. Roe, her treating cardiologist, recommended elective replacement of her pacemaker battery, the Coumadin was stopped five days before the procedure. It was then restarted after the surgery.

Dr. Roe placed Ms. Doe on Bactrim to prevent infection and ordered an INR test, which is the international normalized ratio blood test. The test showed a result of 3.2 – more than double the previous INR taken before the procedure. Dr. Roe allegedly ordered a repeat INR for one month later. The INR blood test tells a patient how long it takes for blood to clot. A test called prothrombin time (PT) measures how quickly the blood clots in the body.

Before the repeat INR test, Ms. Doe was taken to the hospital ER suffering from anemia. Her INR at the time was 22.8. While at the hospital, Ms. Doe coded several times and died the next day.
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Jennifer Schlutt, 26, was diagnosed as having squamous cell carcinoma of the distal urethra or periurethral area.

She underwent a course of radiotherapy treatment, including external beam radiotherapy and the placement of an implant.

During this radiation treatment, which lasted approximately six weeks, Schlutt suffered a severe reaction. She complained to her treating radiation oncologist, Dr. David Hornback, that she was experiencing extreme pain, open wounds, an internal burning sensation and skin hardening.

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Margaret Parr, 68, underwent a hiatal hernia repair done by Dr. Medhat Allam. She was discharged several hours after the surgery. That night and the next morning, she suffered severe pain and was brought to another hospital where she underwent a second surgery, which revealed necrosis of her gallbladder, intestines, pancreas and stomach.

Unfortunately, Parr later died of ischemia resulting from thrombosis that had compromised one or more of the stents that been implanted in her celiac and mesenteric artery the year before.

Parr was a retiree and survived by her wife and adult daughter.
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Hansaben Patel, 74, was hospitalized and diagnosed as having uncontrolled diabetes and an electrolyte imbalance. While hospitalized, Patel’s hemoglobin dropped.

A gastroenterologist, Dr. Fadi Deeb, diagnosed a duodenal ulcer and prescribed proton pump inhibitors. Patel suffered two large bleeds and was then transferred to the facility’s ICU.

After a third massive bleed, Dr. Deeb performed surgery. It was unsuccessful in stopping Patel’s bleeding. Before scheduled embolization by an interventional radiologist, Patel vomited and aspirated blood.
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Lonnie Kersey had a family history of prostate cancer. He took Avodart to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. His treating internist, Dr. Michael Pisano, allegedly ordered lab work in 2012 and 2014, including a prostate-specific antigen test (PSA).

The following year, Dr. Pisano allegedly ordered another PSA, which showed a value of 3.0 ng/mL, nearly triple the previous results.

Dr. Pisano ordered further testing two years later, at which point Kersey’s PSA was significantly elevated at 203.3 ng/mL. This led to a biopsy and diagnosis of Stage IV prostate cancer.
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Julius D’Amico, 73, was admitted to Bryn Mawr Hospital for surgery to treat what was believed to be an infection in her arm AV graft used for hemodialysis. During the surgery, she lost blood and fluid volume, which led to a postoperative decrease in her blood pressure, blood volume and hemoglobin.

In addition, that night she suffered prolonged periods of hypotension and decreased tissue profusion. After undergoing hemodialysis the next day, she became unstable, lost consciousness and suffered a fatal heart attack.

D’Amico was survived by her husband and two adult daughters.
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