The Army and Navy clash in an annual football tradition here in Philadelphia. But the bringing together of the Army and Navy does not always have pleasant results.
In fact, a Navy spouse who gave birth at an Army hospital was recently awarded nearly $25 million because of the major, permanent kidney damage she suffered there. She and her husband prevailed in a medical malpractice lawsuit they filed against the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The woman was there in July of 2013 to give birth to a daughter. The baby was born at 1 a.m. Just two hours later, the woman came down with a fever. Her attorney said it was obvious at that moment that she had an infection and that she needed to be treated with IV antibiotics.
“There’s no risk” to the treatment, her lawyer said, “And it was almost presumptively a serious infection that needed treatment.”
Unfortunately, doctors at the Army hospital failed to diagnose the infection and failed to treat it with antibiotics. The woman sustained serious kidney damage that has required her to undergo numerous transplants and dialysis.
She must take immunosuppressant medications for the rest of her life, a news article states.
The $24.7 million verdicts is the largest ever awarded in a medical malpractice claim against the hospital, though it is not the first. Twelve years ago, the hospital was ordered to pay $16.5 million after a baby was given carbon dioxide rather than oxygen.
While there is undoubtedly justice in these large awards, there is also the certainty that significant compensation means one thing: significant damage has been done to the victim of medical malpractice.
If you have been harmed by physician or hospital negligence, contact an attorney experienced in medical malpractice litigation.
We are highly selective in the cases we undertake to ensure that can give each client his full attention. You can schedule an appointment for a personal injury consultation at our Philadelphia office by calling us, or by filling out our online intake form.
