Personal Injury Law

Chicago Resident is Victim of Medical Malpractice

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

A Chicago man is suing a St. Petersburg surgeon for medical malpractice after the death of his wife following emergency surgery last summer, reports the St. Petersburg Times.

Dr. Sukunya Susie Dunphy was a 42 year old medical doctor in Chicago. While in Florida she was rushed to the hospital after experiencing abdominal pain. It was determined that she had an inflamed appendix and that evening the surgeon performed a laparoscopic appendectomy to surgically remove the appendix.

Hours after the surgery, Dr. Dunphy?s heart rate began to climb while her blood pressure dropped. Unfortunately, the medical staff at the Palms of Pasadena hospital where she received her care failed to properly note the changes. In fact, Dr. Dunphy herself told the hospital?s nursing staff that as a medical doctor she knew her blood pressure was too low and that steps should be taken to notify the doctors to provide better care. The nursing staff did not inform doctors of the situation, however. Instead they actually wrote in her chart that Dr. Dunphy was engaging in ?attention seeking behavior.?

Tragically, shortly after this incident Susie Dunphy was found ?pulseless, unresponsive, and without respiration or blood pressure.? She was officially pronounced dead the following day. Examination afterward revealed that the death was caused by post operative bleeding. Susie?s spouse is suing the doctor, claiming that he should have diagnosed her post-operative bleeding and properly reviewed her chart following the surgery.

Our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti have fought for victims like Susie for decades. Inadequate medical care comes in a variety of forms, and failure to properly monitor developing complications is just one of many ways that patients fail to receive the care to which they are entitled. Doctors are responsible for properly diagnosing problems throughout their care-giving, both when a patient first arrives and following any medical treatment. The surgeon in Dr. Dunphy?s case failed to diagnose her post-operative bleeding, which was just as egregious as if he had failed to diagnoses her appendix problems initially.

You have the right to receive proper medical treatment any time you are under the care of medical professionals. It is medical malpractice to fail to monitor a change in condition. If you suspect that you?ve been the victim of improper treatment, contact a medical malpractice lawyer immediately.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on July 07, 2010 (boomark / email).