Jury Returns $2 Million Verdict After Hospital Fails to Properly Treat for Cardiac Condition
Case Summary:
Amount: $2,000,000Court: Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Date: May 2006
Plaintiff's Counsel: Jeffrey A. Leikin
Description: Medical Malpractice / Wrongful Death
After 4 days, a trial jury verdict in the amount of 2 million dollars was awarded to the surviving daughter and surviving spouse of a 75 year old gentlemen who died at a local hospital as a result of a massive myocardial infarction. The local hospital had misplaced the pre-admission medical records of the patient so that his treating cardiologist was unaware of the fact that the patient had suffered an MI less than 48 hours prior to admission.
The patient suffered severe chest pain at work, prompting his co-workers to call EMS. While in route to the emergency room facility, a 12 lead EKG revealed that the patient was suffering from an acute MI. The patient was stabilized at the ER facility prior to transfer the the local hospital.
However, the ER records were misplaced once the patient reached the local hospital. Unaware that the patient had suffered an MI at work, the physicians treated him for a gastric disorder rather than an obvious cardiac condition.
