Personal Injury Law

Court Upholds $12 Million Award in Medical Malpractice Case

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

The Connecticut Supreme Court recently upheld a $12 million jury verdict in a heartbreaking medical malpractice case that had dragged on for years reports the New Haven Register.

Michelle DiLieto suffered from repeated medical professional errors over a period of several years. In 1995 she was misdiagnosed with cancer after seeing Dr. Scott Casper to treat menstrual bleeding and cramps. A second test performed by the doctor indicated that the cancer may not have existed, but Casper did not follow up. Dr. Casper then removed DiLieto?s reproductive organs to prepare her for lymph node surgery for the nonexistent cancer.

The lymph node surgery was supposed to have been performed by Dr. Peter Schwartz. Instead, however, unknown to Michelle, it was actually conducted by a first year fellow, Dr. Babk Edraki, who had never before performed the surgery alone. This all happened even though the hospital had a specific policy that first year fellows were not to perform surgery without more experienced supervision. Dr. Edraki ultimately botched the surgery, making incisions too deep, causing nerve damage, and leaving Michelle with sharp unrelenting pain.

In the middle of the lymph node procedure the doctors finally discovered that no cancer existed. They stopped the surgery at that point, but did not tell Ms. DiLieto the truth about the repeated errors. Instead, they simply told her that the surgery was successful and the cancer had been removed. Even more than that, the doctors told Michelle that she could not have estrogen therapy to help deal with her unrelenting pain because it may result in recurrence of cancer.

The shocking story is an example of how medical professionals often commit several different acts of medical malpractice with a single patient. In order to cover their first acts of substandard care, the doctors were willing to lie and provide further inadequate treatment for their suffering patient. Michelle was the victim of false diagnosis, misread medical reports, and outright deception.

These types of medical error are all too common at hospitals and other healthcare facilities across the country. They highlight the importance of seeking second, independent medical opinions when you are unsure of a doctor?s first assessment. It also emphasizes the importance of contacting a medical malpractice attorney to hold substandard doctors responsible for their errors. Our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti have won hundreds of millions of dollars for clients, many of whom suffered from the same inadequate care as Michelle. Be sure to consider their services if you suspect that you may have been a victim of similar negligence medical care.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on June 27, 2010 (boomark / email).