Nash & Associates: Case Under Investigation
Brain Injury – intra-operative bleed; failure to timely diagnose
Case Facts: Our client’s husband had been diagnosed some years before with a spinal tumor, which was being actively treated by specialists at a well-known health care facility. As a result of this tumor, he would occasionally suffer from pressure on his spinal cord, which required intervention to relieve this pressure. This spine surgery was performed at a different high-profile, local institution. He had once before successfully undergone such an operation and was doing very well until once again the tumor grew and placed pressure on his spinal cord.
The family returned to the surgeon who had been responsible for the first spinal surgery. They were advised that this surgeon was unavailable (would be out of town), and they were introduced to a younger, different surgeon, whom the primary surgeon highly recommended.
They consented to the surgery based on the representations that were made. The surgery proceeded as planned with the younger surgeon. During the course of the operation, a massive bleed occurred. Following the surgery, the family astonishingly saw the older first surgeon in the hallway. They have now come to discover, through our investigation, that he was listed as the ‘first assistant’ during the operation, which was performed, the family now knows, by a surgeon in training.
The patient was removed to the ICU following surgery. The client’s husband was found to have suffered a massive bleed resulting in significant brain damage. It was not until the care providers in the ICU discovered the cause of the patient’s problems that intervention took place – too late.
Thereafter, the patients suffered for approximately four months with the catastrophic results of the surgery that had gone badly. He required full time care, was unable to effectively communicate with his loved ones and eventually died a tragic death.
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Again, the above ‘cases under investigation’ are just that – under investigation. At Nash & Associates, we recognize that bad results can occur even when the medical care is totally proper. We believe it is our ethical duty to our clients to totally and properly investigate these matters to identify those cases in which tragic outcomes are the result of negligence. While we attempt to initially screen incoming matters to determine which may have merit, the final determination to proceed to a lawsuit is not made unless and until we are satisfied, through proper investigation and qualified expert consultation. that a valid malpractice case exists. Of course, the ultimate determination of the validity of a case lies with the jurors who must unanimously agree that our assessment was correct.
We provide the above information to give you, the visitors to our sight, information as to a sampling of the nature of our practice and insight into the expertise we possess in this area of the law. We do not simply market, collect cases and refer them to other lawyers, who specialize in this area of the law. We are the ones who handle these matters with our many years of highly successful experience in the evaluation, settlement and, when necessary, litigation of medical malpractice and catastrophic injury cases.
