Creating Positive Outcomes for Our Clients
Our results demonstrate a proven track record of success for our clients. And while clients and attorneys often speak to dollar recoveries only, we know our success comes in many forms such as the manner in which we serve and assist clients along the way, how we protect their assets, and how we help them understand what happened in a difficult situation.
We also see our results—and impact—in making healthcare better for everyone. Doctors and medical facilities often change behaviors after losing a medical malpractice lawsuit. They change policies and protocols that serve the better good of their communities and every patient they see thereafter. We take pride in knowing that we can make positive change happen in the healthcare industry.
Below is a representative list of cases that reflect the diversity, size, and types of cases we routinely handle and resolve for our clients. Where matters are part of public record, we have disclosed the settlement amount. Where they are not a matter of public record, we have protected the privacy of our clients and omitted the settlement amount.
Medical Malpractice Results*
*Please note that these examples reflect success in past cases only. In no way do they indicate settlements for future cases. All cases are unique, and specific outcomes cannot be guaranteed.
Surgical Nursing Malpractice – Retained Foreign Body / Surgical Sponge
A woman in her 70's underwent a hernia repair surgery in a hospital in northeast Texas. Unfortunately, the surgical incision failed to heal. The problem became chronic and went on draining pus for about 2 years. Eventually she was taken to a different hospital where radiology revealed that a surgical sponge had been left behind. The sponge was removed and the patient’s wound began to heal normally. Clearly, the surgical nurse’s sponge count during the original hernia surgery was not performed correctly, if at all. The patient’s family contacted our law firm. Within 60 days and without the need for a lawsuit, the hospital settled for a confidential amount.
Emergency Room ER Malpractice (Arkansas) – Failure to Diagnose Cauda Equina Syndrome
A 27-year-old married mother of three presented to a large hospital with recent onset, severe low back pain. In high school, she had hurt her back while cheerleading. However, the nagging back pain had not been bad enough to investigate. However, this new severe pain was unlike anything she had experienced in the past. Further, she developed urinary incontinence. In fact, the new back pain and urinary incontinence had occurred simultaneously while she was at a restaurant with no precipitating trauma. She was taken to a local ER. An ER physician ordered a CT scan which revealed low spinal compression. Nevertheless, the ER physician discharged the patient on a Friday night with instructions to follow-up with an orthopedic spine surgeon the following week. Over the weekend, the back pain kept her bedridden. She wore adult diapers due to the incontinence. By Sunday, she became incontinent to bowel as well as urine. On Monday she was seen in a second ER after a quick PCP appointment. A neurosurgeon quickly diagnosed her as having dangerous spinal cord compression, a condition known as cauda equina syndrome. Emergency surgery to relieve the pinched spinal cord was successful in that the bowel incontinence was resolved. However, too much damage had occurred to the nerve to restore the bladder function and alleviate the patient’s back pain. Those conditions appear to be permanent, unfortunately. A lawsuit was filed and the case later settled for a confidential amount.
Patient Falls in Hospital / Nursing Negligence
A patient who had recently suffered respiratory distress and cardiac failure was recovering in a hospital. As a result of his medical event, he had incurred a bit of neurological impairment. He was identified by the hospital staff as an obvious fall risk. Worse, he exhibited repeated attempts to get out of bed on his own to go to the restroom. His wife authorized the use of bed restraints to make sure he did not get out of bed on his own. Unfortunately, a few days later a nurse chose to remove the restraints and left them off. She noted this in the chart. Immediately thereafter, the patient got out of bed when the nurse left the room. He fell and struck his head. He never regained consciousness and died a few days later. A lawsuit was filed by the widow. The case later settled for a confidential amount.
Radiology Negligence
A female patient experiencing terrible abdominal pain visited an ER at a rural ospital. A CT scan was performed. The radiologist misread it, reporting a normal-appearing abdomen. It was presumed that the patient had a minor bowel obstruction, so she was kept at the hospital under observation. Over the next day, her condition worsened dramatically. She was transferred to a large hospital in a nearby city. There, the surgeon and a new radiologist viewed the same CT scan file that was performed before. They correctly discerned that the patient's blood supply to her small bowel was cut off. They rushed her to surgery where they found a completely dead bowel. She could not be fixed. She died in the presence of her family the following day. Had the problem been timely discovered on the first reading of the CT scan, the blood supply could have been surgically re-established, and the bowel and her life could have saved. A lawsuit was filed and settled for a confidential amount in October 2013.
Emergency Room Malpractice
A man in his 30's presented to an Arkansas ER complaining of abdominal pain and severe nausea with vomiting. This was no surprise since the patient suffered from pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas. At the ER, radiology was performed and blood labs taken. The man was provided pain and anti-nausea medication. Unfortunately, no one appeared to notice his extremely low blood potassium level. Potassium in the blood helps to regulate the electrical system around the heart, and extremely low potassium can cause cardiac arrest. After discharge later that day, he continued to vomit. At home in bed the following morning, he suffered sudden cardiac arrest. EMS was called but was unable to resuscitate him. A lawsuit was filed and settled for a confidential amount in September 2013.
Failure to Timely Diagnose Esophageal Adenocarcinoma / Death
A Dallas air traffic controller suffered terrible heartburn and saw a gastroenterologist in 2005. Biopsies of a suspicious area in his esophagus were taken by EGD scope and sent for evaluation. The pathologist failed to review all of the available samples on slides. He rendered a “no cancer” diagnosis. In 2008, the patient returned to his gastroenterologist with complaints of having difficulty when swallowing. This time, an EGD revealed an enormous cancerous tumor at the site of the original biopsy. When presented with tissue samples, the same pathologist re-reviewed the 2005 slides and recognized his error. To his credit, he issued an amended pathology report, noting that cancer was indeed present in minimal amounts in 2005. It was too late as the patient’s esophagus cancer was now Stage 4. A lawsuit was filed and settled for a confidential amount. The air traffic controller died from metastatic cancer a few months later, leaving behind a wife and son.
Misplacement of Nasogastric Tube / Death
In the summer of 2010, an 85-year-old great grandmother was taken by her daughter to a rural Arkansas hospital. She was mildly dehydrated and received routine IV fluids. It was felt that her gallbladder might also be inflamed and a gallbladder removal (laparoscopic cholecystectomy) was planned. The physician was not in the facility but called from his clinic and ordered the nurses to place a nasogastric tube to suction stomach contents in preparation for the surgery. While two family members were present in the room, a nurse inserted the NG tube into the patient’s nose. Unfortunately, the tube found its way into the patient’s trachea rather than her esophagus. The nurse did not recognize this and continued to feed the tube down into the patient. When she encountered resistance, the nurse applied pressure to push through. This punctured arteries in the patient’s lung, causing a massive hemorrhage. The bleeding filled her lungs within minutes, essentially drowning the terrified 85-year-old. The two horrified children witnessed the traumatic event. The case against the hospital settled for a confidential amount.
Pharmacy Error / Kidney Failure
Recovering from breast cancer treatment, Mary Beasley’s prescription was mis-filled at the Kelsey Seybold Clinic Pharmacy in Houston. Rather than getting a blood pressure drug and a separate diuretic, she received the diuretic in both pill bottles. Over the next few weeks, she unknowingly consumed a triple dose of the diuretic, all the while meticulously following the dosage instructions printed on the bottles. The overdose of the diuretic eventually caused her kidneys to fail due to extreme dehydration. She spent 10 days in the hospital recovering. No offer of settlement was made. The case went to trial in Houston in April 2012. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of Mary Beasley in the amount of $25,798.52.
Failure to Manage Coumadin Levels / Stroke
An executive in Houston was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. He elected to undergo cardiac ablation to correct it. In 2008, his cardiologist placed him on Coumadin for a couple of months before the procedure. The so-called “Coumadin levels” were monitored weekly by the physician’s office staff. Blood labs were drawn; the INR was checked; and, the Coumadin dosage was adjusted to maintain a safe therapeutic level of the blood thinner. One week later, the INR was found to be dangerously high. Unfortunately the staff member tasked with communicating with the patient was on vacation, and no system was in place to contact the patient. He continued to take the same dose of Coumadin, causing his blood to become ever more dangerously thinned. He eventually suffered a hemorrhaging stroke and was hospitalized. He eventually regained the ability to speak, but has permanent cognitive and reading difficulties. The case against the cardiologist and his office settled for a confidential amount.
Failure to Timely Deliver Baby / Death
A full-term young mother presented to a major Texas hospital in 2009 for the delivery of her baby. All signs pointed to a healthy baby after a normal pregnancy. The mother’s water had broken at home, but she was not sufficiently dilated and was not yet in full labor. A fetal monitor was placed, and the mother was given a drug called Pitocin to help her progress into labor. Shortly thereafter, the monitor showed that the baby was struggling and was hyperstimulated as a result of the medication’s effect on the mother. The nurses continued to give the Pitocin. The baby’s vital signs on the monitor worsened over several hours. Eventually, the obstetrician arrived at about the same time that the baby crashed. The baby was delivered but had sustained a devastating low-oxygen brain injury in utero. The newborn survived for a few minutes and then tragically passed away. The case against the hospital settled for a confidential amount within a few months of the lawsuit being filed.
Overdose of Haldol in Elderly Patient / Death
A retired, 87-year-old military vet sought care for abdominal pain at a rural Arkansas VA clinic. Found to be suffering from gallbladder disease, he was transferred to the VA hospital in Little Rock for surgery. The abdominal pain was intense. He was given pain medications overnight while surgery was planned for the following day. Nevertheless, he became agitated and thrashed in his bed. An overnight nurse contacted a young medical doctor and asked to give the patient an anti-psychotic drug called Haldol. The doctor agreed but prescribed a very large dose of the drug, essentially tripling the published dosage recommended by the attached medical school’s pharmacy department. The drug was administered and the patient calmed. Unfortunately, his respirations decreased and he died shortly thereafter from the overdose. A federal administrative claim was made by the military vet’s 85-year-old widow and family. A public-record settlement was made in the amount of $150,000.
Wrong Site Orthopedic Surgery
A young Houston banker saw an orthopedic surgeon in 2007 to have a knee injury repaired. An ACL repair was planned. When he arrived at the hospital, the patient’s right knee was marked with the surgeon’s initials to ensure the proper leg was operated on. Somehow, neither the nurses nor the surgeon took a “time-out” in the operative suite prior to beginning the procedure. The correct surgical site was not confirmed. Later, while inside of the wrong knee, the surgeon realized that the joint and tendons were in good condition. He then realized what had happened. Angry, he then operated on the correct knee and repaired it. Nevertheless, the patient awoke to surgical wounds on both knees. No one would tell him why. Eventually the surgeon disingenuously told him that a scalpel was dropped and cut his left knee. While the right knee was repaired appropriately, he continued to have pain and weakness in the left knee. This law firm obtained the medical records and told the patient the truth as to what had occurred in the operating room that day. A lawsuit was filed which later settled for a confidential amount.
Retained Surgical Gauze
In 2009, an elderly patient underwent an abdominal surgery at a rural Texas hospital. Unfortunately, the nurses failed to take an accurate sponge count at the conclusion of the procedure. A surgical gauze was left behind. A few days later, an X-ray revealed the radiopaque signature of the retained gauze, but the physician failed to note it. The patient was discharged home, painfully sore and unable to move around easily. After a few weeks and several follow-up appointments, a CT scan revealed the gauze and the reason for the pain and poor healing. The patient had a large abscess which was surgically drained. He developed deep venous thrombosis (DVT) due to the multiple surgeries, being bedridden, and the abdominal abscess. He lives with the DVT even today. It causes severe pain when walking and is treated with Coumadin. The claim against the hospital settled for a confidential amount. A lawsuit against two physicians has resulted in one confidential settlement to-date.
Failure to Properly Treat Ulcerative Colitis / Death
A 49-year-old practicing nurse, wife, and mother of two children had recently been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC), a form of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). As her symptoms worsened, she sought GI care and was admitted to a Texas hospital. During the hospitalization she experienced increasing abdominal pain, hallucinations, and symptoms of severe or infectious UC. Nevertheless, she was discharged with little change in her UC treatment plan. A few days later she was admitted to a second nearby hospital where she was quickly diagnosed as suffering from toxic megacolon, a life-threatening, infectious/inflammatory bowel condition that can occur as a result of under-treated UC. Tragically, she succumbed to the infectious process weeks later. The case settled prior to trial in May 2009 for a confidential amount.
Anesthesia Complications / Brain Injury
A 46-year-old school teacher with two sons underwent an elective hysterectomy at a major hospital. She had been cleared by cardiology despite her serious cardiac and renal problems. The cardiologist made it clear to the surgical staff and anesthesiology personnel that she was at significant risk for cardiac arrest. After the surgeon had left the operative suite, the patient remained under anesthesia care. For unexplained reasons, the anesthesia personnel failed to recognize that her blood pressure and other vital signs decreased significantly over a period of 15-25 minutes. She then suffered cardiac arrest and was resuscitated. Unfortunately, she suffered a profound brain injury due to lack of oxygen prior to and during the arrest. She now suffers severe speech impairment, lack of mobility, and a general inability to care for herself. She requires full-time nursing care. The lawsuit settled prior to trial in 2008 for a confidential amount.
Mixed-Up Biopsy / Death
A Louisiana resident, husband and father of three was diagnosed and treated for leukemia at a Texas hospital. After a long and successful course of treatment, he was declared cancer-free. He and his family celebrated his good fortune. He returned to the hospital for periodic blood marrow biopsies to ensure that his cancer had not returned. On one such occasion, the lab mixed up his biopsy with that of a different patient. The patient was informed that his cancer had aggressively returned, and chemotherapy was initiated that evening. A few days later, he was informed of the mix-up and told that he was indeed cancer-free. With a depleted immune system as a result of beginning chemotherapy again, the patient suffered from severe pneumonia that caused his death. The case settled in June 2008 for a confidential amount.
Failure to Diagnose Ectopic Pregnancy / Wrongful Hysterectomy
A 32-year-old married mother of three children desperately wanted an additional child. Fertility problems made conception difficult. After considerable expense with fertility treatments, she began experiencing bleeding and cramps. She was examined by her OB-Gyn, whose only recommendation was total hysterectomy. The patient was devastated but reluctantly agreed. The surgery was performed about a month later. No pregnancy test was performed prior to the surgery. During the surgery, the OB-Gyn discovered that the patient was actually suffering from an ectopic, or tubal, pregnancy. While tubal pregnancies are not viable for fetal development and pose a serious health risk for the mother, it was apparent that the fertility treatments were working. Nevertheless, the OB-Gyn completed the total hysterectomy and forever ended the patient’s chances of having an additional child. The case settled for a confidential amount in September 2005.
Surgical Misadventure / Spinal Procedure
A Beaumont, Texas, construction worker named Virgil Cook complained that Dr. James Ghadially of Houston negligently performed a cervical spine surgery. Mr. Cook's esophagus was somehow torn during the procedure, allowing blood to aspirate into his oropharynx and into his lungs. Hours after the surgery and while still at the hospital, Mr. Cook suffered respiratory distress and coded twice. He almost died. He underwent additional surgeries to correct the problem. He has now recovered and experiences no future problems connected to the incident. The case went to trial on August 30, 2004. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of Mr. Cook.
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