$850,000 Verdict For Pulmonary Embolism Death: A Maryland medical malpractice jury in a conservative jurisdiction has awarded $850,000 to the plaintiffs in a case involving the failure to timely prevent pulmonary embolism (PE) in the hospital, which led to a man’s death. The verdict included medical expenses in the approximate amount of $350,000 and $500,000 in noneconomic damages.
The 59-year-old man had surgery for an incarcerated hernia and small bowel obstruction that was successful. In order to reduce the known risk of thromboembolism when the man was admitted to the hospital through its Emergency Department the night before, venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis was ordered by the admitting physician and approved by the surgeon that involved sequential compression devices (SCD) instead of chemical prophylaxis such as heparin or lovenox. Following the surgery, VTE prophylaxis by SCD was continued instead of switching to chemical prophylaxis, which the Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit alleged was a breach of the standard of care (the plaintiffs alleged it was also a breach of the standard of care to not use chemical prophylaxis before the surgery).
The day after his surgery, the man was walking the hospital hallway with his wife when he had a pre-syncopal event (he almost passed out and had to be assisted to a chair). He was returned to his bed where he was found to have tachycardia (fast heart rate), his breathing was slow and rapid, and he was provided oxygen. The hospitalist was contacted who ordered saline, pain medication, and a scan of the man’s bladder, believing the man was dehydrated and was suffering from orthostatic hypertension (positional hypertension).
The man’s heart rate and respiratory rate remained elevated throughout the night. In the morning, the man complained of shortness of breath and anxiety. He was found face down in his room about noon, with a shallow pulse and shallow breathing. A code was called but efforts to resuscitate him were ineffective. An autopsy confirmed the caused of death was pulmonary embolism that was larger and more recent than the nonfatal pulmonary embolism that the plaintiffs’ pathologist identified as causing the syncope episode from the day before.
The Maryland medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit alleged that the standard of care required the hospitalist to consider pulmonary embolism on the differential diagnosis, and if he had, a CT angiogram would have been ordered that would have shown a nonfatal pulmonary embolism that would have been promptly treated with anticoagulation therapy that would have saved the man’s life.
The Maryland medical malpractice jury found in favor of the surgeon but found that the hospitalist had breached the standard of care that led to the man’s death. The hospital will be responsible for the jury’s award inasmuch as the hospital employed the hospitalist whom the jury found liable.
If you or a loved one may have been injured as a result of medical malpractice in Maryland, you should promptly find a Maryland medical malpractice lawyer who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a Maryland medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Click here to visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find medical malpractice attorneys in Maryland who may assist you.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.