Admitting ER Physician's Failure to Timely Diagnose Pulmonary Contusion Results in Death to 69-year-old Male
Type of Injury: Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat Pulmonary Contusion Resulting in Infection and Death
Type of Case: Failure to Diagnose
Settlement Amount: $250,000
On September 15, 1999, at approximately 7:00 a.m., M-69 was involved in a single-car motor vehicle accident at the intersection of West 63rd Street and South Loomis Boulevard in Chicago, Illinois. Plaintiff was transported by Chicago Fire Department EMS Unit No. 58 to Holy Cross Hospital.
In the emergency department of Holy Cross Hospital, Plaintiff gave a history of a motor vehicle accident with left chest/rib pain. While in the ER, Plaintiff was diagnosed with multiple rib fractures and a pulmonary contusion. Thereafter, Oscar Herbas, M.D., a thoracic surgeon, admitted Plaintiff to Holy Cross Hospital. Between September 16th and September 23rd, despite the findings of diagnostic imaging studies, Dr. Herbas never began an affirmative course of care to address Plaintiff’s pulmonary contusion and increasing fluid collection in Plaintiff’s lung. Thereafter, the treatment the defendants attempted to manage Plaintiff’s infection, however, other organ systems began to fail. On November 7, 1999, 69-year old Plaintiff died as a result of bronchopneumonia.
The plaintiff's wife and sole heir, although not divorced, had not lived with the decedent for the two years preceding his death.
The above summary is specific to a particular case and is not intended as a projected outcome on any other matter.