Cardiovascular diseases and emergencies are often handled incorrectly by health care providers. Errors of omission, predominantly failures in diagnosis, lead to improper treatment and result in serious injury and death. The firm has successfully handled numerous cardiac and emergency room cases. Some examples include: long-term failure to recognize or control hypertension, resulting in strokes; failure to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease, resulting in cardiac arrest; and, failure to recognize dissecting aneurysms or acute myocardial infarctions in need of emergency treatment, resulting in death or anoxic brain damage. In some cases, even where the proper diagnosis was made, we have seen the wrong treatment provided. For example, in one case thrombolytic therapy was given to a person with an acute myocardial infarction who also had accompanying acute uncontrolled hypertension, thereby causing stroke, coma, and brain injury. For some reason, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases seem to regularly produce injurious mistakes, and our firm reviews many cases falling within this area.
Victor Bergman recently settled one such case. The client was a 42-year-old Michigan man who, in 1987, suffered an episode of sudden death from undiagnosed coronary artery disease, resulting in anoxic brain damage and permanent disability. The case was settled three weeks before trial in Sedgwick County, Kansas for the policy limits of $3.2 million, including $3 million to be paid out in ten annual installments by the Kansas Heath Care Stabilization Fund. The action was filed against a Wichita cardiologist. The plaintiff had a strong history of early coronary artery disease on both sides of his family. He was a long-distance runner who began to experience "a typical" chest pain both with and without exertion. In July 1985, he went to his family physician, who obtained some lab work which showed an elevated cholesterol level, and a treadmill stress test which was "positive" and highly suggestive of myocardial ischemia and coronary artery disease. She recommended that the plaintiff be seen for a cardiology consultation. Due to a lack of insurance, the plaintiff delayed the consultation seventeen months until December of 1986.
At the consultation, the defendant cardiologist documented the history of chest pain, the elevated cholesterol level, and reviewed the treadmill stress test. On physical examination, he heard a click and murmur when listening to the heart, which suggested a mitral or tricuspid valve prolapse. The physician pursued the diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse with an echocardiogram and confirmed his suspicion. However, he failed to do the testing necessary to rule out coronary artery disease. Instead, on the faulty reasoning that mitral valve prolapse can account for a false-positive treadmill stress test and the type of atypical chest pain reported by the plaintiff, the defendant cardiologist reassured the plaintiff that long-distance running was beneficial and the chest pain should not be a concern. The plaintiff and his wife left the cardiology consultation relieved that coronary artery disease was not a concern to worry about.
Ten months later, the plaintiff collapsed after a ten-mile run when his heart stopped pumping, a condition known as "sudden death," caused by the undiagnosed ischemic heart disease. By the time he was resuscitated, the plaintiff had sustained significant brain damage due to the interruption of the flow of blood and oxygen to his brain.
After many months of hospitalization and attempted rehabilitation, the plaintiff returned home to his wife and two children. His principal injury was damage to his short-term memory and thought processes. He could not remember what year it was, who he was, or who various members of his family were, and this frustrated him. He had to be assisted and "cued" in performing every basic daily task of living, such as brushing his teeth, eating a meal, or getting dressed. He was prone to bizarre and inappropriate conduct in public, which embarrassed his family. He was cognizant of and became depressed about his situation and became threatening and potentially suicidal. Eventually, his wife could not cope with the situation and obtained a divorce, and the plaintiff went to live with his parents in Michigan. The plaintiff's parents found themselves living again with their son, now as an adult who needed constant attention and care.
Two nationally prominent cardiologists gave depositions on the plaintiff's behalf, and were prepared to testify at trial that the cardiologist was negligent, that the coronary artery disease was severe and should have been diagnosed in 1986 and, had the diagnosis been made, the appropriate treatment probably would have averted the tragedy of the sudden death episode. A life care planner, an economist, a neuropsychologist, and a number of treating physicians were all ready to testify on the subject of plaintiff's injuries and damages. The case included a claim for the plaintiff's wife's loss of consortium, and the settlement was allocated 90 percent to the plaintiff's claim, and 10 percent to his former wife's claim for loss of consortium.
