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MedErrorLaw.Com Catastrophic Injuries Medication Errors Medical Malpractice Personal Injury Law Spinal Cord Injury Traumatic Brain Injury Wrongful Death |
CASES
I am proud to have achieved justice by obtaining millions of dollars for clients who have been badly hurt or killed, or who have lost loved ones, through negligent medical, professional or corporate practices. The following are just a few examples of some of the significant case that I have won or settled, or am currently pursuing.
Medication Error -
Attorney Kenneth N. Margolin obtains $7.1 million jury verdict ($10.2 million, with interest) for infant brain damaged by medication overdose Excerpt From Boston Globe, March 28, 2002 FAMILY AWARDED $7.1 M FOR OVERDOSE A Suffolk County jury yesterday awarded $7.1 million in damages to the family of Joey R., a 4-year old Newton boy who, as a premature infant, received a massive overdose of a high-blood-pressure drug after pharmacists at Children's Hospital in Boston failed to dilute an adult medication. The boy's parents, Christopher and Kathleen R., argued in court that the overdose triggered brain damage that left their son mentally retarded and suffering from cerebral palsy and seizures. The defendants, three former employees of the hospital pharmacy, contended that Joey's brain damage resulted from complications of his premature birth, not from their mistake. Excerpt From Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly April 8, 2002
FAMILY GETS $7.1 FOR DRUG OVERDOSE
A Suffolk County jury awarded $7.1 million in damages to a family who claimed that a massive drug overdose at Children's Hospital in Boston injured their 4-year-old boy's brain. Christopher and Kathleen R., parents of Joey R., argued in court that the high-blood-pressure drug overdose left their son mentally retarded and suffering from cerebral palsy and seizures. However, the defendants, three former employees of the hospital pharmacy, said the youngster's brain damage resulted from complications of his premature birth, not from their mistake. According to state records, doctors prescribed a drug called Enalaprilat for Joey's high blood pressure. Pharmacy technician Margarita Pagan prepared the dose, and pharmacist Phu Duthinh initialed it without noticing the medication had not been diluted. A nurse administered it, believing she had given the 6-microgram dose required for the 3-month-old baby. The dose, instead, had 750 micrograms, more than 100 times the proper amount. The attorney for the plaintiff was Kenneth N. Margolin. COMMENTARY BY ATTORNEY MARGOLIN The tragic case of Joey R. provides some important lessons. It illustrates the terrible danger presented by medication errors. While the hospital pharmacy made changes in their procedures after the overdose to Joey, the changes were not, in my opinion, adequate to prevent a future disaster. A major verdict such as the one in this case, may finally motivate adequate protections to help minimize future pharmacy errors. Joey's case also highlights how important it is for a family whose child or loved one has been killed or badly injured by medical malpractice or medication error, to have perserverance. The defense fought this case with all its resources from the moment the lawsuit was filed,until the jury rendered its verdict. It took all of Joey's parents' belief in their son and in his case, to believe that justice might prevail. Finally, Joey's case shows how imperative it is to have an attorney with expertise in medication errors and medical issues. While the medical issues in this case were necessarily complex, it was my job to make them readily understandable to the jury. I had access to topnotch expert witnesses, who explained the medicine in terms the jury could understand and relate to their common experience. The defense and its insurance company, offered not one penny to settle Joey's case before the trial began. They spent a great deal of time and money trying to convince the jury that the defendants' catastrophic error caused Joey no harm. Their intractable position made clear the wisdom of my case selection and preparation philosophy, which is to attempt to obtain a fair settlement on every case, but to accept no case unless I am willing to bring it to trial. The jury in Joey's case was diligent and attentive throughout the two week long trial. In the end, justice triumphed when the jury reached their verdict in favor of Joey R. and his parents. Medication Error - Anesthesia and Hospital Administration Negligence
A healthy 41 year old mother of four children died as a result of being administered
the wrong anesthesia during routine surgery. The tragedy occurred in a
backdrop of the big business of medicine overshadowing patient care. The
hospital, deep in financial debt, was searching for a takeover by a large
health care corporation, and had a freeze on hiring permanent physicians
in the anesthesia department. As a result, the patient was treated by
an anesthesiologist on a three month contract and a nurse anesthetist
hired from a temp agency. Neither of these temporary workers received
any training or orientation to the hospital. They neither communicated
adequately with each other or any other members of my client's operating
team. She was given the wrong kind of anesthesia because the anesthesiologist
and nurse anesthetist were confused as to what kind of surgery was to
be performed. In the midst of the operation, my client was given additional
anesthesia incorrectly, causing her to vomit into her lungs, which was
fatal. My client died because the business interests of the hospital were
put before patient safety.
$2,815,000 Recovered
Medical Malpractice - Obstetric
The obstetrician ignored signs of fetal distress and delayed too long before
delivering of the baby by cesaerean section. The baby aspirated meconium (feculent
matter) and suffered brain damage. Part of the defense that had to be overcome
was a claim that C-sections are overused, and that the doctor was correct in
waiting. Our top notch experts were prepared to testify that the policy debate
over cesearean section was irrelevant to this case, in which the procedure was
clearly required.
$750,000 Recovered
Medical Malpractice - Obstetric
My client's child's shoulder became stuck beneath the mother's pubis symphasis
bone, a condition known as shoulder dystocia. Instead of using one of several
appropriate maneuvers to free the child without injury, or performing a caesarean
section, the doctor pulled straight down on the child's head, tearing the brachial
plexus nerve and causing permanent limpness and weakness in the child's right
arm.
$450,000 Recovered
Medical Malpractice - Surgical
A 16 year old boy with mental retardation and cerebral palsy, required an operation
for scoliosis - curvature of the spine. The surgeon improperly placed a hook
used to secure a Harrington rod to the boy's spine. When the hook pressed on
the boy's spinal column, the surgeon ignored classic signs of nerve compression,
and delayed removal of the hook until permanent nerve damage was done. The boy
lost the ability to feel the need to urinate, and therefore did not know when
he needed to use the bathroom. That disability, along with his significant mental
retardation, will require him to receive more intensive help in his assisted
living in work situations, than he would otherwise have needed. His level of
independent functioning was thus compromised.
$275,000 Recovered
Medical Malpractice – Anesthesia and Surgical
My 62 year old client entered the hospital for routine insertion of a tesio
catheter into her jugular vein for kidney dialysis. The surgeon pierced the
vein causing internal bleeding. Rather than diagnose the cause and extent of
the bleed so that the vein could be stitched, he applied pressure for a half-hour,
during which my client lost 1/3 of her body’s blood. The bleeding caused
a large hematoma to press on her trachea, which prevented her from breathing
properly and required intubation by the anesthesiologist. Despite her weakened
condition and the hematoma pressing on her trachea, the anesthesiologist took
out her breathing tube the moment the operation ended, causing her to go into
cardiac arrest and to suffer prolonged lack of oxygen and permanent brain damage.$450,000 Recovered
Medical Malpractice – Failure to Diagnose Colon Cancer
My client was a healthy, vigorous, 62 year old man, dean of a university department,
married and father of 2 children. When he presented to his managed care doctor
with classic signs of early colon cancer, the doctor failed to order a colonoscopy.
Instead, he ordered a signmoidoscopy, which does not visualize the whole colon,
as does a colonoscopy. The sigmoidoscopy did not detect a malignant tumor in
the furthest portion of the colon. Several years went by before the client experienced
symptoms of fatigue and weight loss. At that he changed physicians. The new
doctor ordered a colonoscopy which discovered the colon cancer which had spread
to his liver. Despite aggressive treatment, he died within a year. Colon cancer
is slow-growing. Had the colonoscopy been ordered when the symptoms first appeared,
the cancer would have been completely cureable.Case Ongoing
EXAMPLES OF NON-MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES
Dropped Stretcher - Paralysis
As my client was being transferred on a stretcher from an ambulance to a hospital
emergency room, the two ambulance attendants allowed the stretcher she was on
to collapse to the concrete. The client weighed 400+ pounds and had severe osteoporosis.
The impact caused a burst compression fracture of the third thoracic vertebra,
leaving her permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Discovery revealed that
the ambulance company had never trained the attendants in the proper handling
of especially large patients, specifically obtaining extra help while handling
the stretcher. Moreover, the stretcher had not received maintenance for 19 months,
during which time its condition deteriorated from excellent to unacceptable.
The defense claimed that the client had a prior condition which caused the paralysis.
Medical records showed, however, that the client had full motion in her legs
at all times until she was dropped, after which time, she lost all sensation
in her legs, as well as the ability to move them. Our preparation included testing
the involved stretcher to rule out all non-operator error causes of the collapse.
Attention was focused not on the conduct of the EMTs who dropped the stretcher,
but on the shoddy training and maintenance practices of the ambulance company
that employed them.
$1,030,000 Recovered
Falling Merchandise Head Injury
My client was purchasing supplies in a well-known hardware chain store. While
he was searching the shelves, a heavy shop vacuum cleaner that had been piled
too high, fell on his head, knocking him unconscious. He suffered a closed head
injury which has left him with memory and cognitive loss as well as struggles
with occasional disorientation and depression. Investigation has disclosed that
the hardware chain in question is known to have problems with falling merchandise
due to their careless stocking practices which place space-saving economy over
customer safety.
Settled - Results Confidential
Burn Injury - Illegal Fuel Oil Receptacle
My client delivered home heating oil for a local oil company. The tanker he
drove was used to hold and deliver both gasoline and home heating oil. While
the home heating oil is relatively stable and non-combustible, the gasoline
is highly volatile. Unless gasoline vapors are fully flushed out of the system,
they can ignite even if the truck is carrying the home heating oil. Whenever
fuel is delivered from a truck used to haul gasoline, even if the gasoline has
been emptied, the truck must be grounded to prevent static electrical sparks.
The company to which the client was delivering the home heating oil, used a
receptacle that lacked proper grounding attachments, and adequate warnings,
as required by law. When the client began to deliver the heating oil, a static
electric spark, possibly from keys hanging from his uniform, ignited gasoline
vapors that had been left in his truck. The resulting flash of superheated gasoline
vapors, left my client with raised keloid scars throughout his upper body. The
case had to be tried against the company using the illegal fuel receptacle,
as any claim against the employer was covered by workers compensation. Our experts
included a retired president of a fuel oil delivery company, and a former Fire
Commissioner for the City of Boston.
$390,000 Recovered, Including Release of Workers' Compensation Lien
"Federal Tort Claims Action - Collision with Army Truck
Two soldiers stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, became lost returning
from maneuvers in the western part of the state. They attempted a U-turn on
Route 2 in Lincoln, Massachusetts, a road which at the time, was only two lanes
in each direction, with no divider in the middle of the road. The truck was
too large for a U-turn, so the soldiers attempted a three-point turn, their
truck fully across all four lanes of the highway. As my client came over the
crest of a hill in his station wagon, he saw the truck and attempted to swerve,
only to be run off the road by an oncoming car also trying to avoid the army
vehicle. My client's car ended up underneath the truck. He suffered permanent
leg injuries. The government initially claimed that my client had been speeding
and driving inattentively, a claim that was rebutted by several eyewitness statements
obtained by our investigator.
$400,000 Recovered
Dangerous Premises - Career Ending Shoulder Injury
The building in which my client, a 62 year old HMO executive worked, had an
oddly designed foyer that included a sloped area, over which numerous people
had tripped, though none had suffered serious injury. My client ordinarily entered
and exited the building from a different side, but on the day in question, came
in through the main foyer, after a fire drill called by building management
in cooperation with the fire department. As the view of the sloped area was
blocked by the crowd surging back into the building, my client tripped on the
slope and suffered a severely torn rotator cuff that did not respond well to
surgery. We contended that the usual duty to cordon off or place conspicuous
warnings by the hazardous area, was heightened as a result of the fire drill
which caused approximately 100 people to crowd back into the building through
the entrance containing the sloped area. Although my client was an executive,
she spent considerable time on her computer, a task which was impossible after
the injury. The case was taken seriously by the defendant's insurer and resolved,
because amongst other factors, our client was a hard-working woman who had missed
barely a day of work in thirty years before the incident. The defense appreciated
that the usual effort to portray the plaintiff as a malingerer or complainer,
would backfire in this instance. While I review "fall down" cases
very carefully before accepting them, this case illustrates that the right such
case can be handled successfully.
$450,000 Recovered
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