A wrongful death lawsuit that was sparked by medical malpractice was recently settled outside of our state’s borders here in New Jersey. Still, the story resonates and it shows that mistakes can be made at any level of any medical process.
In this case, a man died of lung cancer in 2011. But in 2009 and 2010, the man went in for chest x-rays and there were signs that a possible mass was forming on his lungs. These signs went unnoticed by medical professionals and the health care system the family used. The family sued the system and a physician’s office for their failure to notice these signs, which resulted in the man’s death.
The case was recently settled for $1.3 million in a bizarre way. The family went to a different court than the original court that was being used to agree to a settlement. Though this could signify improper legal procedure, it appears as though the settlement will still go through.
The obvious lesson here is that medical mistakes are so easy to make, even for highly trained professionals. Missing something that is seemingly obvious, like a growing mass on a person’s organ, can lead to that person’s death in short order. Medical professionals have to see such symptoms, and if they don’t, their negligence can make them liable.
But the other lesson here is the legal procedures, and how any victim of medical malpractice (or loved ones of such a victim) needs to follow them, Making any procedural misstep could ruin your case.
Source: Roanoke Times, “Roanoke medical malpractice case settled quietly — in Botetourt,” Laurence Hammack, May 4, 2015
