Power Rogers Partners Larry R. Rogers Jr. and Kathryn L. Conway recently obtained an $8.05 million dollar jury verdict for the family of a woman who died after medical providers failed to diagnose her MRSA infection.
As reported by the Chicago Law Bulletin, the 59-year-old victim presented to an outpatient facility in Olympia Fields with signs of an upper respiratory infection in April 2015. Though the victim described her symptoms and informed the Physician Assistant that her father had recently tested positive for MRSA, she was diagnosed with an upper respiratory tract infection and prescribed an antibiotic that does not cover MRSA.
Two days after the outpatient visit, the victim presented to the emergency department of a local hospital, where she was diagnosed with MRSA-pneumonia that later progressed into sepsis and multi-organ failure. She died on April 21, 2015.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of the victim’s family alleged that the outpatient facility was negligent in failing to timely diagnose and treat MRSA and in discharging the victim without an accurate diagnosis.
As Kathryn Conway told the Chicago Law Bulletin, it was alleged that a pulmonary exam performed at the outpatient facility revealed an abnormal finding that should have prompted providers to perform a chest x-ray and prescribe an antibiotic effective against MRSA.
“Medically, this was a very complex case about infectious disease, and I am glad the jury understood our explanations of the medicine and recognized that more should have been done to timely diagnose and treat this infection,” said Conway.
Following a nearly two-week trial in February, a Cook County jury deliberated just under 3 hours in arriving at the $8.05 Million verdict and awarding damages for the victim’s medical expenses, lost wages, pain, suffering and emotional distress and the losses suffered by her late husband and her children.
“Our client’s death was preventable had the defendant medical provider taken the time to listen to her patient, consider the signs and symptoms, and render appropriate care. It was an honor to fight for her family,” Rogers, Jr. said.
Read the Chicago Law Bulletin’s coverage of the verdict here.
Power Rogers is a nationally recognized law firm representing injured people and their family members in cases involving medical negligence, trucking and automotive negligence, product liability, premises liability, and all other types of personal injury litigation.