Personal Injury Law Firm - Latest News
A Medical Catastrophe
In one of the most hard fought cases, we helped recover a life-changing $870,000 for a young woman, who is now mentally impaired. The 17-year-old had a sickle cell crisis and went into emergency surgery. While under anesthesia, she was not given enough oxygen and she went into a coma after surgery. Though she awoke, she was never the same.
The Defendant correctly pointed out that she needed the surgery and might have died without the emergency procedure. We responded by citing the standard of care, which required that she be kept properly oxygenated during the procedure. Defendant relied on his own handwritten record to say the oxygenation was appropriate. Our experts explained that the results showed Defendant’s records were not accurate.
Non-economic damages were capped under Michigan law. In an effort to limit economic damages, Defendant also argued that the Plaintiff’s sickle cell disease limited her life expectancy, and her low grades and poor background meant she would never have earned much money, even had she not become injured.
The settlement we achieved was one of the highest medical malpractice recoveries of 2008 in the relatively conservative county where the action was venued.
