In May of 2008, a woman arrived at a Virginia hospital to receive treatment for pancreatitis. The woman also had prior history of lupus, insulin-dependent diabetes, Crohn’s Disease, acute renal failure, hypothyroidism, hypertension, and migraine headaches. The patient’s case of pancreatitis improved with a week’s stay at the hospital. The hospital planned to discharge her, but the evening prior to her planned discharge, she received insulin for her diabetes. The administration of this insulin came with a nursing error that dropped her glucose level to 12, a critical and often fatal level. This put the patient into a diabetic coma and was placed on life support for a month. The patient died on June 30, 2008 after being declared brain dead only ten days before that.
Because of their obvious negligence and failure to aggressively monitor the patient, the hospital was proactive in the negotiation of this claim. There was no litigation in the resolution of this matter. The hospital waived all of the woman’s hospital bills and did not submit them to any health insurer for payment. The hospital also reimbursed the family for all legal and investigative costs and offered a sum of $2,489,519.00 to be awarded to the husband and daughter over the course of their lifetime.
About the Editors: Shapiro & Appleton& Duffan personal injury lawfirm (VA-NC law offices) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY, who handle car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more.