Sommers Schwartz attorneys Robert Sickels and John Malone filed a medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the estate of a 31-year-old Warren man who died after a neurosurgeon and neurologist failed to recognize that his brain shunt was malfunctioning and that his seizure-like episodes were actual seizures.

The decedent had lived with hydrocephalus since early childhood. Hydrocephalus is a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid, which cushions the brain, accumulates faster than it can be absorbed, creating dangerous pressure inside the skull. The condition was managed with a ventriculoatrial (VA) shunt, a surgically implanted device that drains excess fluid from the brain to the heart. His shunt had been revised multiple times over the years, most recently in 2010, after which his seizures had been fully controlled for more than a decade. In December 2022, he began experiencing new seizure-like episodes and grew concerned that the shunt was no longer working properly. By April 2023, he had experienced approximately five such episodes.

On April 28, 2023, the decedent was brought to the hospital by ambulance after losing consciousness at work. He was admitted, and his care team included a neurosurgeon and a neurologist. The neurosurgeon evaluated the shunt through a physical examination and imaging and concluded it was functioning normally, without definitive testing to determine whether it was actually draining adequately. The neurologist performed and interpreted multiple electroencephalograms (EEGs), tests that measure the brain’s electrical activity to detect seizures. During one recording, nursing staff documented the patient grunting, rocking, and exhibiting other movements that had historically been consistent with his seizures. The neurologist concluded that these physical behaviors were not correlated with any seizure activity in the EEG and cleared the patient from a neurology standpoint.

The complaint alleges that both conclusions were wrong. The lawsuit claims the decedent’s physical behaviors during the EEG recordings did in fact correlate with abnormal electrical activity in his brain and were clinical signs of seizures that should have been recognized and communicated to the rest of the care team. Also, the shunt was malfunctioning, and definitive testing would have revealed it. Together, these failures meant the underlying cause of the decedent’s deteriorating condition — a failing brain shunt driving worsening seizure activity — went undiagnosed and untreated. Both specialists cleared the patient for anticipated discharge, and he continued to have episodes of unresponsiveness and falls during his hospitalization.

In the early morning hours of May 7, 2023, the decedent was found with a dangerously rapid heart rate and became unresponsive. Nursing staff noted he showed no response to stimulation. The neurology team was called and advised to treat for status epilepticus, a life-threatening medical emergency in which the brain enters continuous, uncontrolled seizure activity that deprives it of oxygen. He was intubated and transferred to the ICU. CT imaging at the time also discovered a separate complication: old tubing from a previously abandoned shunt procedure had looped around his small intestine, causing a bowel obstruction.

Later that evening, a repeat CT scan of his head showed evidence of diffuse anoxic brain injury, widespread brain damage from oxygen deprivation. In the days that followed, his neurological exam showed no brainstem reflexes and no response to any form of stimulation. He was pronounced brain dead on May 11, 2023, and died on May 14, 2023. His death certificate listed cerebral edema and anoxic brain injury as the causes of death.