Settlement – 62-year-old Man Dies of Cardiac Event Following Visit to his Primary Care Physician for Shortness of Breath, Palpitations and Difficulty Walking
Medical MalpracticeOur client contacted us to investigate the death of her husband who died on March 31, 2017, at the age of 62. He and our client were married in 1976. They had known each other since kindergarten. They had two adult children and had 5 grandchildren. A 6th grandchild was born after he passed. On May 31, 2018, we commenced a wrongful death lawsuit against a Findlay physician and his practice group.
The decedent was 62 when he scheduled an appointment with his primary care physician on March 30, 2017. He “hit a wall” upon his normal walk and even had problems walking up the stairs. He communicated this, as well as episodes of shortness of breath and heart palpitations to the Defendant physician. At that appointment, he was examined, and an EKG was performed. It was Plaintiff’s position that the EKG was not read properly and showed a cardiac episode. The reading stated: “non-specific ST & T wave abnormalities”. There were several previous readings in his chart for comparison. The defendant physician scheduled him for various tests at later dates.
Less than 24 hours later, our client’s husband was dead. The autopsy revealed a pair of myocardial infarcts; one occurring 5-7 days earlier and the one that killed him, occurring 6-7 hours before his death. The Plaintiff contended that the defendant doctor failed to diagnose an acute cardiac event which should have resulted in direct admission to the hospital.
All defendants denied the allegations of negligence and discovery ensued. On February 5, 2021, the parties participated in a mediation that resulted in a confidential lump sum settlement for our client.
***Individual results may vary based on the facts, injuries, jurisdiction, venue, witnesses, parties, and other factors. This result is not necessarily representative of the results obtained by all clients.***
