The plaintiff was a 59 year-old businessman with a long history of epilepsy. In an effort to identify the location of his seizures, he underwent a diagnostic electro-encephilogram, where the patient is taken off his medications and is allowed to have uncontrolled seizures, which are monitored. While experiencing seizures during the procedure, the plaintiff suffered an anoxic episode, that is, a period when his brain was not receiving the proper amount of oxygen. As a result, the plaintiff sustained cognitive and expressive impairments including memory deficits and word-retrieval difficulties. We argued that the procedure should have been terminated before the seizure had progressed to a “grand-mal” state. The case was settled for $750,000.
Blog: Thoughts on Law and Life
$750,000 Dialysis Injury
Written by admin on September 19, 2013
Our client was a lovely 15 year-old girl who suffered from kidney failure and required dialysis several times a week. During a dialysis treatment, the catheter was misplaced into our client’s retroperitoneal cavity, resulting in a major bleed which required surgical intervention. Although the plaintiff eventually recovered, she sustained abdominal scarring as a result of the surgery. (Later, she received a kidney transplant and no longer required dialysis.) A lawsuit was brought against the hospital and physician who administered the dialysis and it was settled before trial for $750,000.
$760,000 Failure to Diagnose Lymphoma
Written by admin on September 19, 2013
Our client’s husband was a 46 year-old garage attendant earning $50,000 per annum who complained to his cardiologist about burning chest pain even after a stent was put in to address a blockage of the coronary arteries. The doctor prescribed Prilosec for the chest pain, suspecting that the problem was of a gastric nature. Eventually, the decedent’s family sent him to a gastroenterologist who performed an endoscopic procedure which resulted in a diagnosis of plasmablastic lymphoma, a rare, aggressive and nearly always deadly form of cancer of the lymphatic system. At trial, the defense expert was set to testify that given the nature of the disease, the decedent could not have been saved. Our expert oncologist testified that plasmablastic lymphoma can, on occasion, be treated successfully and that the defendant’s failure to timely refer the decedent for gastroenterological work-up deprived the decedent of an opportunity for a cure. The defense offered $760,000 in settlement and our client accepted the offer.
$790,000 Perforated Uterus During Surgery
Written by admin on January 24, 2024
During a procedure to terminate a pregnancy, our client suffered a perforation of her uterus and injury to the small intestine, which required emergency repair via laparotomy including excision of a section of the small intestine. We claimed that the original procedure was performed negligently and the case settled for $790,000
$800,000 Sex Abuse by Clergy
Written by admin on September 19, 2013
This case involved a young man who had been repeatedly sexually abused by a defrocked, former Greek-Orthodox priest. This priest, who had established his own “stand alone” church, had lured the vulnerable youngster into his midst with promises of menial work at the church. A suit was brought against the priest and his church. The defendant priest fled the country prior to his deposition. One of the biggest challenges in the case involved proving that the church trustees knew or should have known about the priest’s pedophile tendencies. The other challenge involved defeating the separate suit brought by the church’s insurance company which claimed that its coverage did not extend to acts of molestation by a priest. While these issues were being litigated, the church, its insurance company, and our client agreed to proceed to mediation where the case was settled for $800,000.