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"Largest Settlements of 2005"
As listed in Massachusetts Lawyers
Weekly, January 16, 2006
Lubin & Meyer leads the
way again with
9 settlements of $1 million or more in 2005
Related excerpts from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article
$4.75 million - Man suffers brain damage following
heart attack
Plaintiff's counsel: Andrew
C. Meyer Jr. and Krysia J. Syska,
Lubin & Meyer, Boston
The plaintiff presented to the emergency room for evaluation of chest
pain that had developed suddenly. The defendant physician evaluated the
plaintiff. One of the tests ordered by the defendant was Troponin I. At
that time, Troponin I was relatively new, and the test results were being
sent to another hospital's laboratory for interpretation. The plaintiff
was discharged by the defendant despite the fact that the Troponin I test
result was still pending. The Troponin I level test came back and was
elevated and stated clearly on the report that the value was indicative
of myocardial injury. The ER nurse indicated that she attempted to find
the plaintiff prior to his leaving the parking lot, but he had already
left the hospital grounds. The plaintiff was never contacted regarding
the elevated Troponin level and was never informed of the need to return
to the hospital. The plaintiff was found at home gurgling and breathing
abnormally. He then stopped breathing. Myocardial infarction was confirmed
the next day.
$3.5 million - Patient suffers neurological
deterioration despite testing
Plaintiff's counsel: Andrew
C. Meyer Jr. and Krysia J. Syska,
Lubin & Meyer, Boston
The decedent carried a fifteen year history of systemic lupus as well
as a mild history of thrombocytopenia and other abnormalities of the proteins
in her blood, all of which, collectively, placed her at increased risk
for thromboembolic events. The decedent was examined by the first defendant
due to a two-day history of headache and upper neck pain. No imaging studies
or diagnostic tests were performed. The headache did not resolve. The
defendant emergency room resident and the defendant ER attending radiologist
obtained a head CT scan and lumbar puncture. The CT scan was performed
and interpreted by the defendant attending radiologist. Based on the negative
testing, the decedent was sent home with a prescription for pain medication
and instructions to follow-up with her primary physician. Her prognosis
eventually became grave, and she continued to neurologically deteriorate.
The decedent was eventually determined to be brain dead by protocol and
died after organ donation.
$3.5 million - Man undergoes disc surgery,
wakes up a paraplegic
Plaintiff's counsel: Andrew
C. Meyer Jr. and Robert M. Higgins,
Lubin & Meyer, Boston
The 35-year-old plaintiff reported that he had strained his neck, and
the defendant performed a C6-7 cervical diskectomy. During the procedure,
the defendant noted in his records that he noticed a small dural leak
during the surgery. At the completion of the procedure, the plaintiff
was unable to move his lower extremities. The plaintiff was discharged
to New England Rehabilitation Hospital, where he was noted to have very
limited movement of his upper extremities, no pain or temperature sense
in his feet and no movement of his lower extremities. The plaintiff is
in a wheelchair, has no movement of his lower extremities, and has no
bowel or bladder control. It was the plaintiff's position that the spinal
cord trauma and subsequent bleeding could only have occurred as a result
of negligence by the defendant during the course of the surgery. The defendant
acknowledged that it would have been negligent to injure the spinal cord
during the surgery. However, the defendant testified that he always took
care to avoid injury to the spinal cord and indicated that he was not
near the spinal cord during the plaintiff's surgery.
$2.9 million - Man suffers stroke while driving to
doctor's office
Plaintiff's counsel: Andrew
C. Meyer Jr. and Robert M. Higgins,
Lubin & Meyer, Boston
The plaintiff presented to the defendant's office with complaints of lightheadedness
and nausea. Without any testing, the defendant diagnosed the plaintiff
with an otitis media and prescribed an antibiotic and an antihistamine.
The plaintiff returned to the defendant's office after having completed
the prescribed course of antibiotic therapy and informed the defendant
that he continued to experience lightheadedness and nausea and was also
experiencing double vision. The plaintiff was evaluated by an ENT who
was unable to come to a definitive cause for the plaintiff's dizziness
and double vision. The plaintiff phoned the defendant's office to report
severe lightheadedness and double vision again and the defendant scheduled
an appointment for the plaintiff. The plaintiff left his home later that
morning and headed to the defendant's office, but never arrived. He was
found unresponsive in his car at the side of the road. The plaintiff now
resides in a nursing home. He is a quadriplegic and is only able to communicate
by blinking his eyes in response to questions.
$2 million - Complaints of back pain followed by cardiac
arrest
Plaintiff's counsel: Andrew
C. Meyer Jr. and Robert M. Higgins,
Lubin & Meyer, Boston
The plaintiff's decedent underwent surgery to insert an aortic valve graft.
He had no post-operative complications and was discharged home three days
later. Within a day of returning home, the plaintiff's decedent was noted
to have trouble keeping his coagulation in the correct range, so he was
readmitted to the Lahey Clinic to regulate his blood levels. The plaintiff's
decedent later experienced a sudden onset of pain between his shoulder
blades, into his back and chest. He walked to the nurse's station and
reported to the defendant nurse that he was scared of the sudden pain,
and asked to see the doctor on call. The nurse checked his vital signs,
which were reportedly normal, and then called the on-call physician's
defendant assistant. The assistant allegedly indicated that she was not
coming to see the patient because he was difficult and was always complaining
about something. The decedent then suffered cardiopulmonary arrest and
was pronounced dead.
$1.96 million - Family seeks redress for law firm's
failure to comply with the FTCA notice provisions
Plaintiff's counsel: Andrew
C. Meyer Jr. and William J. Thompson,
Lubin & Meyer, Boston
The plaintiffs were a brain damaged 10-year-old girl and her parents.
The law firm was unaware that three of the four potential defendants in
the medical malpractice case were federal employees working at a federally
funded health center. The law firm did not discover the potential defendants'
federal employee status until after the two year notice period had expired.
Given the law firm's failure to comply with the FTCA notice provisions,
the federal court dismissed the three federal employee physicians from
the case. The 1st Circuit upheld the decision. The case was tried in state
court against the one remaining defendant doctor. The jury returned a
verdict for the defendant. The plaintiffs then sought redress for the
law firm's failure to comply with the FTCA notice provisions. A legal
malpractice action was filed, and written discovery requests were served.
The case was settled before any written discovery was answered, and before
any depositions were conducted. The case settled for the limits of the
available insurance policy. It was a two million dollar policy with a
wasting provision for defense costs.
$1.5 million - Woman dies of toxic shock syndrome
following breast biopsy
Plaintiff's counsel: Andrew
C. Meyer Jr. and Suzanne C.M.
McDonough, Lubin & Meyer, Boston
A 55-year-old woman underwent an uncomplicated breast biopsy. Several
days later, she developed signs of overwhelming infection. Two weeks later,
she died of toxic shock syndrome arising out of the infected biopsy site.
The plaintiffs claimed the decedent had signs of toxic shock syndrome
shortly after arrival to the emergency room, the defendants failed to
properly diagnose and treat her and that as a direct result she died.
The defendants maintained that their care of the plaintiff's decedent
was at all times in compliance with the applicable standards of care.
$1 million - Patient dies of prostate cancer following
years of testing
Plaintiff's counsel: Andrew
C. Meyer Jr. and Krysia J. Syska,
Lubin & Meyer, Boston
The decedent was evaluated by the defendant urologist who documented an
enlarged prostate and a PSA of 2.9. The decedent then complained to the
defendant PCP of fever and nocturia, and another course of antibiotics
was prescribed. Later that month a urine culture was negative, so the
decedent was referred back to the defendant urologist. The defendant urologist
evaluated the decedent and noted his recent urinary symptoms. The defendants
allegedly failed to make recommendations for further evaluation and follow
up of the findings. Eventually, a CT scan revealed metastases to his liver,
bone and lymph nodes such that the decedent died of metastatic prostate
cancer.
$1 million - Baby dies of hypovolemic shock
Plaintiff's counsel: Andrew
C. Meyer Jr. and Suzanne C.M.
McDonough, Lubin & Meyer, Boston
The plaintiffs claimed that while an inpatient, their 10-month-old child
exhibited signs consistent with dehydration and impending shock and that
the defendants failed to appropriately manage the child's condition, directly
resulting in his death. The covering physician had diagnosed gastroenteritis
with moderate to severe dehydration. The primary pediatrician arrived
and diagnosed hypovolemic shock secondary to gastroenteritis and dehydration.
Resuscitative efforts were unsuccessful and the child was pronounced dead.
See also: Top Verdicts
of 2005
Largest Settlements
of 2004
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