Sommers Schwartz attorney Richard Groffsky secured a $1 million confidential settlement on behalf of the family of a man who died following an extended, undiagnosed post-surgical infection.

The patient underwent a microdiscectomy, an outpatient surgery, to treat his chronic back pain. His surgeon performed the procedure without complications. However, at multiple follow-up appointments in the following weeks, the patient complained of persistent pain, nausea, and difficulty breathing. Although imaging noted the possibility of septic arthritis, they did not perform additional testing to identify or treat this serious, potentially fatal condition.

As a result of their negligent failure to diagnose or treat the patient’s post-operative sepsis, his condition worsened significantly, and he died of septic shock. Sommers Schwartz negotiated a $1 million settlement on behalf of his family for this unnecessary, tragic, and avoidable death.