Case Examples

Cardiology Malpractice – Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection: Drutchas v. St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, et al.
Sommers Schwartz attorney Matthew Turner filed a medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of a 36-year-old woman who suffered permanent and catastrophic heart damage due to ...
  • Wrongful Death: Confidential $850,000 Settlement Over Failure to Diagnose Pulmonary Embolism and DVT

Sommers Schwartz senior shareholder Matthew Curtis recently obtained a confidential $850,000 settlement for the family of a man who died after physicians and nurses failed to treat a pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

The decedent, a 53-year-old man, presented to the defendant urgent care center complaining of shortness of breath for two to three days, nasal congestion, and fatigue. At that time, the urgent care staff diagnosed “shortness of breath and acute recurrent maxillary sinusitis,” prescribed medication and an inhaler, and sent the decedent home. 

Two days later, the decedent experienced worsening shortness of breath and collapsed. He was transported by ambulance to an emergency room in full cardiac arrest and passed away soon after arrival. An autopsy concluded the cause of death was “acute pulmonary thromboembolism due to deep venous thrombosis of left lower extremity.” 

The decedent’s estate alleged that multiple acts of negligence committed by the urgent care physicians and staff directly led to the decedent’s wrongful death. Although he showed clear signs and symptoms of PE and DVT, the defendant doctors and staff failed to properly evaluate him, did not take an appropriate or detailed medical history, neither ruled out nor considered the probability he was experiencing PE and DVT, did not perform an EKG or other tests, misdiagnosed his condition, and sent him home instead of transferring him to a hospital for an immediate workup. 

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