RESULTS: $750,000.00 settlement with confidential details
COURT: [Confidential] Virginia
DATE: WINTER 2023
ATTORNEY: Eric K. Washburn, Richard N. Shapiro
STAFF: Heather G., Paula F.
WHAT HAPPENED:
This case report is highly redacted due to a confidentiality agreement required by the medical provider defendant. Unfortunately, confidentiality agreements staunch public safety by not allowing both the medical community and consumers to understand what happened and how to make meaningful choices in health care in the future.
Our client, a young mother with one child under 10 years of age, presented at the emergency department of a Virginia hospital in 2019 when she was 29 years old. In the emergency room, she was diagnosed with what could be a significant cardiac condition that was life-threatening. She underwent a cardiac procedure [confidential details withheld] at the hospital, but one of the doctors inadvertently lacerated a part of her heart anatomy. When the doctor realized the mistake, the doctor called for a colleague to assist in saving the patient’s life. While two doctors attempted to save her life, she died while still in the procedure at the hospital.
There are many details that are not reported here because of the confidentiality agreement.
LEGAL STRATEGIES:
We had the specific cardiac procedures reviewed by well-qualified medical experts in the field of cardiology, who gave us the opinion that medical negligence occurred in various particulars of the procedure. [Redacted due to confidentiality]. Our investigation indicated that two separate physicians breached the medical standards of care as such an opinion is required in Virginia before a medical malpractice case can move forward.
In Virginia wrongful death cases, one of the family members serves as the personal representative and administrator of the estate of the deceased family member. We assisted in having a Circuit Court clerk appoint the family representative so that we could move forward with a lawsuit. The suit was filed in state court, and after many legal briefs were filed and multiple court hearings occurred, the parties arrived at a settlement just one week prior to the scheduled jury trial and several years after the death occurred.
That settlement provided for a trust agreement in favor of the young child who lost his mother. The trust agreement provides that one of the family members and an attorney would have the discretion to provide monies for the minor child’s health, education, and welfare as the child progresses, along with money to fund a 4-year college education for the decedent’s child in the future.
RESULTS: $750,000.00 settlement with confidential terms