Iowa to Pay $875K After Hospital Error Resulted in Amputation of Leg

The Des Moines Register reports that the state of Iowa has settled a lawsuit filed against the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics after a young girl went to the hospital in 2007 for a stomach surgery, and had to have her leg amputated after she developed compartment syndrome.

The state will pay $875,000 to the now 16-year-old girl who had her right leg amputated and her left leg now suffers a permanent foot drop.  The suit alleged that the girl’s legs were elevated for over 10 hours causing increased pressure to build in her leg muscle compartments, leading to muscle and nerve damage.

The hospital is overseen by the Iowa Board of Regents and the State Appeals Board had to approve the settlement.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a form of medical negligence, you may have a medical malpractice claim.  […]

Family of WVa Nursing Home Resident Who Received Poor Care Awarded $91.5 Million

The family of an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and several other conditions, received $91.5 million in damages from a Charleston, West Virginia nursing home.  The elderly woman was a patient for just three weeks at Heartland of Charleston nursing home where the workers failed to feed and care for her leading to her death just one day after transferring to another facility.

The lawsuit alleged that while living with her son, the woman’s health had improved to where she could walk, speak and recognize family members. However, when she was checked into Heartland the staff confined the woman to a wheelchair, labeling her a fall risk.

The family’s lawyer argued that Heartland did not have enough staff to properly care for the woman and the other patients.  Some former Heartland workers testified properly caring for all of the residents was impossible. […]

Lawsuit Settles for $650K After Sponge Left in Patient

The Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida paid $650,000 to settle a lawsuit against a man with a “retained foreign object and medication error.”  The man also reached a confidential settlement against two radiologists.

The now 68-year-old man was admitted to the hospital in October 2009 to undergo surgery for diverticulitis.  His recovery was slow, and after five months he was in more pain than prior to his surgery.  He went back to the doctor and had several X-rays and CT scans before the surgeon and gastrointestinal doctor found a surgical sponge in his stomach that had been left behind during surgery.

The man declined further treatment at Good Samaritan and went to another hospital to have the sponge removed and a portion of his intestines, due to perforation.  The man also received an incorrect dosage of blood pressure medicine, however, he did not have any lasting issues over that error. […]

Colorado Medical Malpractice Suit Against Nurses Settled

Undocumented immigrant receives $700,000 in medical malpractice suit settlement

The Colorado Springs, city-owned Memorial Health System settled a lawsuit filed by an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who claimed her baby suffered severe brain injuries during delivery four years ago.  The now four-year-old is a spastic quadriplegic who cannot stand, sit or walk, and has the intellectual level of a six-month-old.

The city paid $700,000 to the child because the care provided by the Memorial nurses and the doctor “fell below the standard of care” by failing to properly interpret fetal heart monitoring strips that showed the baby in distress during labor, having the mother hold her breath which further depleted the oxygen going to the baby and delivering the baby vaginally rather than performing a cesarean section.

The lawsuit only covered the negligence by the nurses.  The doctor is employed by Peak Vista Community Health Centers which is a Federally Qualified Health Center.   […]

$1.25 Million Awarded After Surgeon Was Found Negligent

Surgeon found negligent in botched procedure

A 67-year-old Ithaca, New York woman was awarded $1.25 million after her surgeon was found negligent when a 2007 gallbladder operation left her gravely ill and fighting for her life.   The surgeon at Cayuga Medical Center had been practicing for over 15 years when found at fault.

The woman entered the hospital complaining of an upset stomach when she was told her gallbladder needed to be removed.  The woman’s bowel was unintentionally cut during surgery, yet the surgeon did not inspect the bowel for injury prior to completing the surgical procedure.

Almost immediately the woman became severely ill, exhibiting multiple signs of infection. 32 hours after the first operation, she was operated on again to find the source of the infection, and then to repair the injured bowel.  The woman also underwent four more surgeries, […]