Contact Us for Legal Help
Medical Malpractice
Bachus & Schanker, LLC Client Awarded Confidential Settlement Amount for Wrongful Death Caused by Medical Malpractice
36 year-old Patricia, who was 19 weeks pregnant, felt her water break and started to go into premature labor. Patricia, a divorced mother of two children ages 14 and 8, was pregnant with her third child with her long-time partner Brent. Patricia was rushed to the emergency room where she was initially admitted for observation and given IV antibiotics to ward off potential infection and try to delay any premature labor. Unfortunately Patricia's health insurance plan refused to allow Patricia to continue treatment at this hospital, and she was instructed to go to a different hospital to continue her treatment. During her transfer, at the direction of the obstetrician at the new hospital antibiotics were stopped. Patricia was not admitted to the new hospital, however she was observed for 23 hours. During this time, despite worsening symptoms including migraine headaches, nausea, and vomiting, antibiotics were never given. Patricia was discharged home on February 20 with instructions to call the doctor if she developed a fever, bleeding, chills, cramping or contractions.
The next day, Patricia continued to feel ill, experiencing headaches and nausea and a chill. She continued taking pain relievers for the headaches. That afternoon, Brent, a pharmacist, called the doctor and informed him of Patricia's symptoms. The doctor did not instruct Brent to have Patricia return to the hospital at that time. Near midnight on that day, Patricia experienced severe abdominal cramping and she and Brent returned to the hospital where Patricia miscarried the fetus and she was diagnosed with a severe bacterial infection.
Patricia ultimately died as a result of the bacterial infection.
Bachus & Schanker, LLC filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the doctor, the resident, the hospital and the doctor's employer on behalf of Brent and Patricia's two children. Had Patricia continued to receive antibiotic treatment while at the hospital after her initial transfer, she would not have developed the fatal infection and died. Had the doctor informed Brent to immediately bring Patricia to the hospital when he called on the afternoon of February 22, the infection likely could have been treated, and she would not have died.
On behalf of Patricia's children, Bachus & Schanker, LLC retained numerous national experts to testify that the doctor and resident at the hospital acted below the standard of care in their treatment of Patricia. Additionally, Bachus & Schanker, LLC retained experts to determine the economic loss of Patricia's untimely death to her two children. The defendants hired their own doctors and forced the attorneys at Bachus & Schanker, LLC to attend and pay for numerous expensive, out-of state depositions to determine the extent of liability in this case. After a long fight, the defendants finally decided to settle this case with Patricia's children for a confidential amount.
