A lawsuit filed two years ago following the death of a 38 year-old father of five, who was incorrectly assessed in a Temple University hospital, has resulted in a $6.4 million award to five young children, as reported by the Pennsylvania Record.
D.H. died three months after he was discharged from the Temple University Hospital – from a massive heart attack.
The administrator of the estate, F.N, filed the lawsuit on March 1, 2010. Court records show that it took the jury one week to come to a decision in the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.
The attorney for the plaintiff was Philadelphia-based Matthew A. Casey.
The medical malpractice and wrongful death charges were originally lodged at defendants Temple University Hospital, Temple University Health System, Temple University School of Medicine, Temple University Health System Foundation, Temple University and the two physicians, Dr. R.T.M and Dr. M.W.E.
The complaint stated D.H. sought emergency care at Temple University Hospital on May 31, 2009 with chief complaints of chest and shoulder pain that he began noticing while playing basketball earlier.
D.H. had a history of atrial fibrillation – an irregular heart beat.
D.H. was assessed at the hospital by M.W.E., a resident physician; and R.T.M., the attending physician.
According to the suit neither M.W.E. nor R.T.M. ordered cardiac biomarkers or a lipid panel to assess D.H.'s cardiac risks. D.H.'s white blood cell count, as noted in the suit, was elevated at the time of the examination.
D.H.'s final diagnosis was pneumonia and syncope – syncope is a medical term for fainting – and he was discharged from the hospital's emergency room at approximately 9 p.m. the same day.
On August 30, 2009, three months after his emergency room visit, emergency medical personnel were called to help a man having a seizure. D.H. was vomiting, spitting and coughing just after completing a game of basketball in North Philadelphia. He then had a seizure and went into shock.
D.H. was taken back to Temple University Hospital. Once he arrived he was placed on mechanical ventilation, and later that night, he was diagnosed with an acute heart attack with cardiac arrest and anoxic brain injury. He was treated for heart problems, pneumonia and an infected abdominal wound.
On October 7, 2009, D.H. was discharged again from the same hospital, but this time, instead of returning home to his family, he was placed on a long-term facility where he remained, until his death on November 12, on a ventilator.
The suit claims counts of both negligence and corporate negligence. Temple University Hospital, Dr. R.T.M. and Dr. M.W.E. were named for causal negligence. Dr. R.T.M. was found to be 88 percent negligent, Dr. M.W.E. was found for 10 percent negligent and the hospital was found for the remaining 2 percent.
The actions needed for a medical malpractice lawsuit are simple: If you believe that you have lost a loved one due to the negligence of medical personnel, in a hospital or another setting, contact a medical malpractice attorney.