A Georgia jury has awarded more than $6 million in medical malpractice / wrongful death case on behalf of a husband and his deceased wife’s estate after she developed blood clots and died shortly after undergoing outpatient knee surgery. The woman had knee pain and went to an orthopedic surgeon who ordered an MRI of the knee. That MRI showed something behind the knee which resulted in the the orthopedic surgeon performing outpatient arthroscopic surgery on the woman. The next day, the woman was found dead at home. An autopsy showed that deep venous thromboids had formed at the site of the surgery, and then traveled to the lung causing a pulmonary embolism. Apparently, the orthopedic surgeon ignored several risk factors that should have indicated that blood clotting could be a problem, such as obesity and birth control pills.
As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a large number of pulmonary embolism malpractice cases. There are clear guidelines from a variety of professional medical organizations, such as the American College of Chest Physicians, which state who should be considered at risk for deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and what should be done to prevent it. Every patient who is undergoing surgery under anesthesia or who is unable to move around on their own should be evaluated for the risk of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. It is a preventable condition in this day and age. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.