The California Court of Appeals has upheld the $9 million Los Angeles County medical malpractice awarded to a woman whose physician failed to diagnose that a shunt in her brain had caused an infection. The appeals court affirmed the jury's decision that CareMore Medical Group doctor Harley Deere was negligent in the medical care that he provided Maria Theresa Sanchez.
Several years ago, when Sanchez was 37, was treated in the emergency room at Downey Regional Medical Center. The doctor there said that a shunt-related infection (Sanchez had a peritoneal shunt in her head because she suffers from hydrocephalus) needed to be ruled out, so she was taken to Lakewood Regional Hospital.
At the Lakewood hospital, CareMore doctor Jason Austin examined her and then consulted with Deere, who is a neurosurgical consultant. Although Austin's notes to Deere did not include Sanchez's symptoms or the fact that she was there to have an infected shunt ruled out, Sanchez's Los Angeles County medical malpractice lawsuit contends that not only did Deere fail to check the records provided by the other physicians that had seen her, but also he never tested her for an infection to her shunt.
Her complaint also claims that as her condition grew worse and another doctor worried that she might be suffering from an infection, Deere and another Caremore physician disregarded the concerns. The medical group did not admit her to the emergency room until fell from her wheelchair.
The shunt in her head was eventually removed after another doctor diagnosed it. Unfortunately, Sanchez, who sustained brain damage following her infection, is now partially paralyzed, can't walk, has a hard time sitting, has slurred speech, needs help when eating, and continues to experience pain.
Los Angeles Medical Malpractice
When negligent medical care compromises the patient's health or results in serious injuries, the victim will usually have grounds for filing a California medical malpractice case. A wrong or delayed diagnosis of a serious condition can cause the patient to experience prolonged pain and suffering that may require more invasive and costly medical treatments and other services. Some cases of delayed or misdiagnosis have led to catastrophic injuries and deaths that could otherwise have been prevented.
Maria Theresa Sanchez v. Caremore Medical Group
Related Web Resources:
Hydrocephalus
Failure to Diagnose, Wrong Diagnosis
