Meyers & Flowers Trial Attorneys Craig D. Brown and Jonathan P. Mincieli recently secured a $1.45 million settlement on behalf of a client involved in a medical malpractice suit.
Our client Jane* sought medical care at a Northern Illinois Medical Group due to left-sided chest pain. Despite presenting with multiple risk factors for a heart attack, including untreated hypertension, chronic hyperlipidemia, a history of smoking, obesity, and age over 60, the healthcare professionals diagnosed her with chest muscle inflammation (Costochondritis) without conducting diagnostic tests to ascertain if her pain was attributable to a cardiac abnormality.
Regrettably, the medical professionals did not consider the possibility of a heart attack as part of the differential diagnosis and even failed to order an Electrocardiogram (EKG) to evaluate the potential cause of her chest pain.
Subsequently, five days later, Jane sought care at an emergency room with severe shortness of breath. Her doctor discovered that she had suffered a heart attack, attributed to a complete blockage of one of her major arteries by a blood clot. Which in turn led to a ventricular septal defect that required urgent surgery. Tragically, Jane passed away from complications caused by her heart attack that was not diagnosed in a timely manner.
After extensive discovery and numerous depositions, attorneys Craig and Jon established a timeline of events that proved Jane was experiencing a myocardial infarction at the time she visited the Northern Illinois Medical Group for her chest pain and her medical professionals ignored the clear signs and symptoms of our client's heart attack. Their failure to properly identify, diagnose and treat the myocardial infarction caused Jane to experience a far more dangerous, yet avoidable, cardiac condition.
The defendants argued that the evidence was not clear enough to say that our client was experiencing a myocardial infarction during the initial office visit, and the diagnosis of Costochondritis was reasonable given her symptoms. Attorneys Craig and Jon, however, showed that the evidence of Jane’s symptoms and eventual ventricular septal defect could only have happened if she was experiencing a myocardial infarction during the visit.
This lawsuit was centered around a wrongful death claim for our client's husband and two children. The family, described as extremely close, has been deeply affected by this loss. Our client's husband has been particularly devastated by the loss of his best friend and soulmate. Their marriage of over 40 years was characterized by deep companionship and unwavering support.
"The pain felt by this family is unimaginable. Although this settlement will never restore the loss they experienced, we are thankful that it brings some well-deserved peace to the family," said attorney Craig Brown.
“This failure to diagnose a myocardial infarction case was a very complicated medical case that involved expert testimony from eight different experts. In the end, our experts adeptly presented their testimonies during depositions, leading the defendants to recognize the strong presentation our case would have made before a jury.” said Jon Mincieli.
Original source can be found here.