Led by Partner Jonathan Mincieli, Meyers & Flowers recently obtained a $450,000 settlement for the family of a McDonough County woman who died due to her doctor’s failure to recognize obvious signs of internal bleeding and treat her accordingly.
In January of 2016, 70-year-old Plaintiff, Jessica*, arrived by ambulance to a central Illinois hospital presenting with uncontrollably low blood pressure and bruising. Just one day prior, Jessica had been receiving treatment at the very same hospital and was put on a blood thinning medication. Despite being seen by the same treating physician as the day before, her doctor failed to recognize her obvious signs of internal bleeding, a known risk associated with anticoagulant medication.
Jessica’s dire presentation combined with her medication should have been an overt indication of her internal bleeding, but her physician ignored the red flags and instead initiated a transfer to another hospital. Unfortunately, due to the series of negligent actions by the attending physician, while waiting for her transfer Jessica suffered cardiac arrest and consequently died.
“The care Jessica received is appalling,” said Jonathan Mincieli. “Jessica’s physician ignored clear clinical signs that she was internally bleeding, which would have been abundantly apparent had they run the proper tests. She then would have received treatment that would have prevented her respiratory shock and coding that day.”
Mr. Mincieli filed suit against her attending physician alleging he negligently provided health care by failing to monitor Jessica’s coagulation levels given her medical history, take measures to reverse her overt anticoagulation, and treat her internal bleeding in a timely manner.
During litigation, the case proved to be especially difficult on account of Jessica’s multiple other conditions, including atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure. The defense used Jessica’s medical history to diminish their client’s wrongdoing and blame Jessica’s untimely death on her other conditions. After retaining several well-credentialed experts that favored the Plaintiff’s claims and through the fierce advocacy of Mr. Mincieli, the defense changed their position. Just days before the trial was scheduled to begin, Mr. Mincieli negotiated a $450,000 settlement – despite the rural venue having a history of no favorable medical malpractice verdicts.
“Jessica’s friends and family remained soundly committed to seeing that the individuals responsible for her death were held accountable. I am proud that I could stand by them in doing so,” said Mr. Mincieli. “Nothing will replace our clients’ loved one or take away their pain of losing a mother, but this settlement will provide the family with the necessary means to ease their financial burdens as they deal with this immense loss.”
*Our client’s name has been changed to protect his privacy.