Jury awards woman $13.7 million in malpractice suit

People in Louisiana suffer from the influenza virus ever year, and most of them make a full recovery. A 53-year-old woman in another state became so ill with the flu that she had to seek the help of emergency room physicians. Unfortunately, her treatment resulted in permanent disability, and she sought the counsel of medical malpractice attorneys. A jury agreed with her lawsuit and awarded her over $13 million for her financial, physical and emotional loss.

When the woman was admitted to the emergency room for treatment of the flu, she had symptoms of sepsis. Sepsis is a serious condition where an infection will hinder all systems of a person’s body. As a result, her heart stopped, but with emergent and pharmaceutical aid, it was restarted. According to her records she was given two medicines to raise her blood pressure, but the lawsuit claimed inadequate administration of the medicines and insufficient monitoring of the patient resulted in her suffering adverse effects of the drugs.

After a week at the hospital where she originally sought care, the patient was transferred to another medical facility for further treatment. At that facility, physicians determined that the patient suffered permanent damage to many of her limbs requiring amputation. She lost both legs, one arm and some of her finger tips.

Prior to having the flu the patient led a full life in which she was employed full time, caring for others and actively involved in her community. The jury agreed that her treatment resulted in a loss of her previous quality of life and took it into consideration to determine her monetary award. Her past and future medical expenses were also estimated in the award. Medical malpractice attorneys in Louisiana can advise patients with similar physical and financial loss of their litigation rights in a local civil court.

Source: The Augusta Chronicle, “Jury awards woman $13.75 million in lawsuit over care“, James Folker, March 2, 2017