Far from us in San Antonio, a jury has decided against a doctor and healthcare system in a case in which negligence was alleged. The doctor and hospital ownership group were ordered to pay more than $1 million in a medical malpractice case in South Carolina.
According to a recent newspaper article, a woman went to an emergency room in March of 2011, coughing and short of breath and complaining of congestion.
The doctor who saw her treated her for bronchitis and hypoxia. Though the woman was already on the blood thinner Coumadin, the physician prescribed another thinner, Lovenox.
According to the lawsuit, she was given three full doses of Lovenox within 18 hours.
She then developed a hematoma in her right leg and “a breakdown of the skin that needed care from a wound care nurse,” according to the news report.
After her discharge, she continued to have leg problems — caused by the dosages of blood thinners — that eventually required surgery. She eventually died in early 2014 “as a direct and proximate result of the negligent medical care rendered to her by the defendants,” according to the lawsuit.
The doctor and hospital denied negligence and argued that the woman’s death was caused by a “natural disease progression.”
The jury designated $1 million in non-economic damages and an addition $103,054.10 in economic damages to be paid to the woman’s family.
Contact a San Antonio attorney experienced in VA and military medical malpractice litigation to learn more about your legal options in your case.