Oklahoma Injury Lawyer and Attorney : Tony Laizure of Stipe Law Firm : Serving Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman, Lawton

            This case is a classical example of  "failure to monitor" a patient .

            In this case,  the patient presented to the emergency department around 3:30 in the afternoon on Christmas Eve 2004. According to the ER record, she complained of the sudden onset of chest pain (left side), with radiation to the abdomen, back, left shoulder and arm. She was properly evaluated by the emergency department, and it was determined she had pneumonia, so she was admitted to the hospital. 

            A pulmonary consult was obtained, which means they called in lung doctor,  and the diagnosis of pneumonia was confirmed.   Pneumonia is basically fluid on the lungs.  Medication was prescribed and the patient was placed on a heart  monitor.

            In the early morning hours of January 1, 2005, the hospital’s central monitoring unit, which monitors patients all throughout the hospital, called the floor on which the patient was staying and advised the floor nurse that the patient’s monitor had somehow been disconnected. For some reason, no one from the hospital went to check on the patient for approximately 20 minutes.  When a nurse finally made her way into the patient’s room, she was found to be asystolic and a code was performed.   She was resuscitated but it was too late. She suffered a fatal anoxic brain injury. That means her brain was not getting any oxygen.  She “lived” for two more days and died on January 3, 2005.

            The family retained us and we hired two experts to evaluate the case.   Not surprisingly, the nursing expert found there to have been several negligent acts and failures on the part of the nursing staff. Obviously, the most significant was the failure of the nurses on the floor to respond to the call from the central monitoring unit, and the failure of the central monitoring unit to follow up with the nurses on the floor. 

            A board certified pulmonary physician reviewed the records concluded that the patient would have in all likelihood left the hospital in good condition but for the negligence of the hospital staff. There was no indication of physician error in this case.

            Prior to filing a lawsuit, the hospital was contacted and agreed to participate in mediation. The case was settled without a lawsuit being filed. At the request of the hospital, the amount of the settlement remains confidential.

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Tony Laizure  recently settled a wrongful death medical negligence case against a Pawnee County physician and hospital.

The case involved the failure of the emergency room physician and nurses to recognize that the patient may have been suffering from a bleed in the brain, a medical condition known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Despite the fact the patient presented with all of the classical signs of a subarachnoid hemorrhage, the emergency room physician felt as though the patient was suffering from a reaction to a prescription medication. The patient was sent home, where 2 hours later he experienced a major bleed, and died shortly thereafter.

The patient was survived by his wife and three sons, who filed a lawsuit against the physician and hospital in Pawnee County District Court. The case was set for trial in November 2006, but settled. The terms of the settlement are confidential.

A subarachnoid hemorrhage is a medical emergency that requires immediate medical attention. Usually, the patient complains of one of the worst, if not the worst, headache the patient has ever experienced. Sometimes, the headache is accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light, dizziness or seizure-like symptoms, although it is not necessary for these symptoms to be present.

If you or a loved one ever experiences these symptoms, you should proceed immediately to the emergency room. Be sure to tell the doctor you are having the worst headache ever, or that this headache is much worse than previous headaches. Once the doctor suspects a subarachnoid hemorrhage, the treatment of choice is a CT scan. This will help the doctor to see if there is indeed a bleed in the brain. The other treatment is a spinal tap or lumbar puncture, done to see if there is any blood in the spinal canal.

If you have any questions about this most important medical condition, call your physician. If you have any legal questions about this or other medical issues, call our toll free number at 1-800-798-2613 and ask for Tony Laizure.

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The loss of a loved one due to the fault or negligence of another brings many unfortunate consequences on the survivors. Losing a child or parent as a result of someone else's carelessness is devastating. And while it is true that you cannot put a price on the life of a loved one, in some circumstances it is appropriate for the wife, husband, parents or children to seek damages for the wrongful death of a loved one.

Oklahoma has what is called a "Wrongful Death Statute", a specific law that allows family members to recover certain damages against those responsible for the death of another. The law provides that when the death of one is caused by the wrongful or negligent act of another, the surviving family members may file a lawsuit to recover certain damages. The statute specifies what damages may be recovered and they are funeral and burial expenses; expenses of last illness; grief and loss of companionship of the surviving husband/wife; grief and loss of companionship of the parents and children, and what the law refers to as "pecuniary loss", which means loss of financial support to a spouse, children or in some cases, parents.

Wrongful death cases can be brought as a result of a death from any number of cases, such as motor vehicle/trucking accident, defective drugs or medication, defective automobile or tractor, faulty equipment or tools, or from the neglect of a doctor, hospital or nursing home. It is very important to preserve evidence in a wrongful death case, whether it be a part from a tool, an automobile, medical records, pill bottles or other evidence. Obtaining the services of legal counsel to assist in the collection and preservation of evidence is an important step in protecting the rights of those who may have a wrongful death case.

Often, insurance companies will approach the family of a deceased and try to get them to sign a release while they are still grieving over the loss of a loved one. Sometimes the money paid is completely inadequate to compensate for the loss, but the insurance company will take advantage of the situation and get the family to settle for pennies on the dollar. In such cases, the family should refuse to sign any papers and consult with their lawyer.

The statute of limitations for wrongful death cases is two years from the date of death.

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