Medical malpractice suit leads to $250K award

Individuals go to medical professionals in order to receive accurate diagnoses, quality care and to get better when they are ailing. Most of the time, the individual is healed. However, when it does not work out that way and medical malpractice occurs, the Maryland legal system is available to help to determine liability for injuries suffered as well as the resulting damages.

An out-of-state medical malpractice law recently resulted in a victim’s family being awarded $250,000. The man had died after being admitted to a hospital eight years ago. He was 78 years old at the time of his death.

The man went to the emergency room of the hospital on Easter Sunday in 2008, complaining that he was experiencing shortness of breath, as well as an unexplainable weight gain. He was admitted in order to be treated for congestive heart failure, as well as atrial flutter. The man’s condition worsened that first night, and it was arranged that he would be transferred to a critical care unit in order to receive further treatment the following morning.

However, that transfer did not occur until 11 hours later after the man became unresponsive. He was then rushed to the unit, where doctors chose to intubate him. He remained unconscious for 11 days, until life support was removed. The hospital was found to be negligent due to the nurses not moving the man to critical care and that this negligence contributed to the cause of the man’s death.

A medical professional or care facility can be held liable for medical malpractice due to improper treatment, a flawed diagnosis or even the treatment of a patient without receiving proper permission. Successfully navigated, the suit may result in an award for financial relief that may help with the cost of medical bills, lost wages or, in the event of the patient’s death, damages for the loss of life. An experienced Maryland attorney is typically consulted to assess whether a medical malpractice claim is appropriate under the circumstances.

Source: telegram.com, “Jury finds malpractice in UMass Memorial lawsuit“, Gary V. Murray, Dec. 26, 2016