$7.25M Settlement For Death Due To Undiagnosed Aortic Dissection: Shortly before a Pennsylvania medical malpractice trial was scheduled to begin on June 12, 2023, the family of a 32-year-old woman who died from an undiagnosed aortic dissection while in the hospital settled the case, with the family receiving $4.15 million from the settlement and the plaintiffs’ medical malpractice lawyers receiving $3.1 million in attorney’s fees and litigation costs.
The woman had a medical history of a heart valve abnormality that was diagnosed in 2017, which put her at risk for an aortic dissection. On December 1, 2020, at about 12:30 p.m., the woman and her mother went to the hospital with the woman complaining of a sharp and burning pain in her chest and abdominal area, which are classic symptoms of an aortic dissection.
Despite the woman being in excruciating pain, and her distraught mother repeatedly telling the emergency room staff that her daughter needed immediate medical attention, the Pennsylvania medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit alleged that there was a five-hour delay in ordering required medical tests, leading to the unnecessary delay in diagnosing and treating the medical emergency.
At about 5:35 p.m., the woman was transferred to another hospital where she underwent emergency heart surgery. She suffered cardiac arrest resulting in death at about 6 a.m. on December 2, 2020.
The family’s Pennsylvania medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit claimed breaches in the standard of care at the original hospital and by the emergency room medical staff, including doctors and nurses. The lawsuit also stated claims of medical negligence against three doctors who had treated the woman in the years prior to her death, for their alleged failure to treat and monitor her heart valve abnormality.
All of the defendants settled the medical malpractice claims before trial.
Aortic Dissection
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the wall of the aorta is made up of three tissue layers — an inner layer (intima), the middle layer (media), and the outer layer (adventitia). An aortic dissection begins abruptly when a tear occurs in the inner layer of a weakened area of the aorta causing blood to surge through the tear, resulting in a bulge and weakness in that area of the aorta, and the inner and middle layers of the aorta to separate (“dissect”). As diverted blood flows between the tissue layers, the normal blood flow to other parts of the body may be slowed or stopped, or the aorta may rupture completely. An aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition that can cause sudden death if it is not recognized and quickly treated.
If you or a loved one suffered harm due to medical negligence in Pennsylvania or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state who may investigate your medical negligence claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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