Our clients, a 27-year old male and a 26-year old female, brought suit on behalf of their three-year old female child. The defendants in this case, failed to diagnose and treat the child’s viral meningoencephalitis when she presented to them for treatment seven times in a ten day period for a febrile illness worsening in severity over time. On the tenth day, the child was emergently transported to the hospital after being found unresponsive. At the emergency room, the physician failed to recognize that the child was in severe respiratory distress, did not communicate with the nurses and emergency personnel who assessed her, failed to assess or manage the child’s airway, and failed to inform the facility accepting the transfer of the situation. Additionally, the physician failed to complete the documentation forms for transport and they were never received by the accepting facility. The transport team likewise failed to assess the child’s condition, failed to establish and manage the child’s airway, and failed to bring the appropriate documentation for transfer. Because of the defendants’ failures, the child’s condition went undiagnosed and progressed to the point where she suffered an anoxic event resulting in a permanent hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, a severe and ongoing seizure disorder with apneic episodes, loss of motor function, loss of speech, and severe developmental arrests and delays. She now requires 24 hour care and supervision and is completely dependent on medical caregivers and her family, and she will be for the rest of her life.
The parties settled after filing suit but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Our client, an extremely high-functioning, 28-year-old man with cerebral palsy, presented to an area hospital. He was discharged from the hospital on pain medications and Benadryl, despite his underlying compromised respiratory system. Within days, the plaintiff’s overall condition had worsened although his lungs showed improving pneumonia in each base. He had not slept or eaten well since his prior presentation and his pain medication was not controlling his pain. The man’s dehydration, poor nutrition and lack of sleep caused his underlying cerebral palsy to worsen and he had developed severe canker sores on his tongue. Despite this presentation, the defendants again did not admit him to the hospital, but rather prescribed multiple fentanyl patches. He was discharged to home with incorrect discharge instructions, which did not list the medications he had been prescribed or the physician he had been treated by. The following day, the plaintiff’s primary care provider was called because the plaintiff was still unable to sleep. The PCP, after learning that the plaintiff had been to the hospital for treatment twice in the past three days, prescribed additional sleeping medications without first determining what medications the plaintiff was on and without calling the emergency room physician to find out what treatment had already been received. Sometime in the middle of the night, our client went into cardiopulmonary and respiratory arrest and suffered a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. Prior to this event, he lived with and was cared for by his family. Because of the injuries suffered as a result of the defendants’ negligence, he now requires 24 hour inpatient care at a rehabilitation center.
The parties reached confidential settlements after suit was filed but prior to trial.
Our client, a 41-year-old woman, was seen by a nurse practitioner in the offices of a local medical center. The plaintiff presented with a one week history of fever, cough, and chest congestion. During the visit, rapid breathing and pulse, as well as decreased oxygen saturation in the blood, were noted. The diagnosis made by the defendant nurse practitioner was probable bilateral pneumonia. The plaintiff was sent home with an antibiotic and instructed to return for follow up in four days. The plaintiff’s condition soon deteriorated dramatically and she was taken to an area hospital for evaluation. She was admitted and transferred to the ICU, where she became unresponsive. The plaintiff was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. As a result of the defendants negligence, the plaintiff was hospitalized for more than a month in the intensive care unit and required many months at a rehabilitation center. She has been left with profound, permanent injuries and disabilities, including hearing loss, speech impairment and difficulty walking. She is unable to return to her job as a legal assistant, and is unlikely to return to work in the future. She will need lifelong medical and rehabilitative care to survive.
The case settled after suit was filed, but prior to trial for a confidential amount.
Our client was experiencing symptoms of loss of vision in her right eye, severe headaches, dizziness, loss of consciousness and light headiness. Her family physicians ordered carotid flow studies which revealed a large irregular plaque formation at the origin of the right internal carotid artery producing severe stenosis. The plaintiff was immediately referred to the hospital for admission and follow up care. Instead, the plaintiff was only seen in the emergency room and was sent home the same day. Client was instructed to take aspirin, wear TED stockings and to sit if dizziness occurred. Less than 2 months later, client suffered a severe and debilitating stroke in the right hemisphere. A subsequent angiogram revealed 90% stenosis of the right internal carotid artery. The client now suffers from left facial weakness, paralysis of the left arm and leg, decreased vision of the right eye, and permanent brain damage.
The case settled before suit was filed for a confidential amount.
In November of 1997, our client, who was 63 years old, presented to the Emergency Department at the local hospital at 8:52 a.m. complaining of chest pains and nausea. Shortly after being given nitroglycerine, the plaintiff vomited and passed out while sitting up in a hospital bed. He fell backwards and struck his head against the bed or the railing. The nurse noted in the records that it took three to five minutes before our client became fully alert and oriented. Our client's head injury was not reported to the Emergency Department physician. On the orders of the Emergency Department physician, and within minutes after the plaintiff struck his head, the nurse administered thrombolytic therapy designed to treat the heart attack, via a protocol which included Retavase, heparin, and aspirin. The thrombolytic protocol is well-known to be contraindicated for patients with head injuries. Despite this, our client remained on the thrombolytic therapy and was transferred to the SCU. A nurse in the SCU noted our client's head injury and notified the defendant doctor. Still, our client was kept on the thrombolytic therapy. The next comprehensive assessment noted our client to have a frontal headache and he was sweating profusely. Minutes after the assessment, our client developed extreme difficulty breathing and significant vital sign changes. A CT scan was ordered immediately. Before our client could be taken for the CT scan he suffered another episode of extreme difficulty breathing. He was emergently intubated and ventilated at which time the thrombolytic therapy was finally discontinued. The CT scan revealed a large right-sided subdural hematoma. Our client was airlifted emergently to a tertiary care facility where he underwent a right craniotomy with evacuation of his acute subdural hematoma.
The defendant doctor had a duty to obtain a CT scan upon learning of our client's head injury on November 4th. Had a CT scan been taken after noon on November 4th it would have diagnosed the plaintiff's intracranial bleed. The thrombolytic protocol would then have been discontinued and the anticoagulants would have been reversed. This would have stopped the bleeding prior to causing permanent brain damage and/or would have insured the plaintiff's transfer to a tertiary hospital to monitor the intracranial bleed and to timely surgically evacuate it if necessary.
The case settled before suit was filed for a confidential amount.
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1819 Elm Street
Manchester
New Hampshire 03104-2910
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