Woman's Family Gets $7.25M In Medical Malpractice Suit

Woman's Family Gets $7.25M In Medical Malpractice Suit

Introduction

A $7.25 million settlement was reached in a case brought by the parents of a lady who passed away because doctors failed to recognise her critical cardiac disease in time.

The complaint was launched against Moses Taylor Hospital and a number of other defendants. An aortic dissection is a disorder in which the major artery carrying blood from the heart rips and breaks apart, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in 2021 and claimed that emergency department employees at Moses Taylor in Scranton overlooked obvious symptoms that the lady was afflicted.

The woman, who was accompanied by her mother, allegedly went to the hospital on December 1, 2020, about 12:30 p.m., complaining of intense, searing chest and abdominal pain—a well-known sign of an aortic dissection. The woman's defective heart valve, which put her at risk for the disease, was also known to the staff, who received the diagnosis in 2017.

The woman moaned frequently about being in terrible discomfort. The personnel failed to quickly request testing, which caused a five-hour delay in detecting the issue. Her mother frequently raised fears that something was wrong as she saw her daughter's condition deteriorate.

Around 5:35 p.m., the woman was transported to the Regional Hospital of Scranton, where she underwent urgent heart surgery. On December 2, 2020, at about 6 a.m., she experienced cardiac arrest and passed away.

Moses Taylor was not the only doctor who treated the woman in the ER who was mentioned as a defendant in the lawsuit. Additionally, three doctors who treated the woman in the years before her death were identified, and it was said that they neglected to prescribe the required treatment for or monitoring the heart valve abnormalities.

Just before the case was scheduled to go to trial on June 12 before the Lackawanna County Judge, a settlement with all defendants was struck.

According to the arrangement, the woman's parents would get $4.15 million. Attorney fees and litigation costs of $3.1 million will be paid to the legal firm defending the plaintiff. Moses Taylor Hospital's owner,

Commonwealth Health System, declined to comment on the agreement through a spokesman.