Failure to Diagnose an Aspirated Pill Results in Woman’s Death Says Litigation Funding Corporation

Southfield, MI (Law Firm Newswire) June 2, 2017 – A senior woman died as a result of having a pill lodged in her throat. It had burned a hole in her pulmonary artery.

This medical negligence case involves a senior who swallowed a pill that lodged in her throat and four doctors were unable to diagnose the cause of her medical issues. Her husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Failure to diagnose is one of the most common medical mistakes in the United States. Researchers at John Hopkins University list medical errors as the third leading cause of death, coming in closely behind heart disease and cancer.

The woman in this case had swallowed her daily medications and felt one go down the wrong way. She was told to go to the emergency room to be seen. By the time the woman arrived at the E.R., she was short of breath from coughing. After a set of chest and neck radiographs, she was sent home with instructions to eat only soft food until she felt better.

Three days later, the woman returned to the E.R. and was sent to be x-rayed again. Her results were listed as normal. During this second visit she was diagnosed with aggravated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and handed a prescription for cough medicine and prednisone.

Still not feeling better, the senior went for a follow up appointment with her primary care doctor who sent her for more x-rays and added an antibiotic to her list of pills.

The x-rays sent to the primary care physician indicated either an infection or a tumor. The patient was told to see a pulmonologist. By then, she was experiencing trouble swallowing, was wheezing and still had a persistent cough. The diagnosis was a cough, but it was not likely there was anything in her airway. The patient was told to keep taking prednisone and the cough medicine but to stop the antibiotics.

In March of 2015, the elderly woman called the pulmonologist to tell him she was not feeling better. Receiving no response, she called her primary care doctor. A few hours later, the elderly woman was found on the floor in the bathroom. EMTs attempted to revive her, but the woman died.

The medical examiner ruled her cause of death to be drowning in her own blood as a result of the aspirated pill burning tissue between her airway and the pulmonary artery, allowing blood to seep into her airway. “Medical errors such as this one are considered to be ‘never events’ as in they never should have happened,” indicated Daren Monroe, representative for Litigation Funding Corporation in Michigan.

Being injured or losing a beloved family member due to a failure to diagnose is catastrophic. Plaintiffs face enormous medical bills and serious financial constraints trying to keep up with expenses that may lead to bankruptcy, foreclosure or damaged credit.

“Litigation Funding Corporation can put money in a plaintiff’s pocket by way of a ‘lawsuit loan’, a cash advance against the pending settlement or court award,” said Monroe. The advancement of funding to a plaintiff is also referred to as litigation funding and it is offered on a non-recourse basis; at no risk to the plaintiff.

Learn more at http://www.litigationfundingcorp.com

Litigation Funding Corporation
7115 Orchard Lake Rd, Ste 320
West Bloomfield, MI 48322
Call: 1.866.LIT.FUND

• Twice Misdiagnosed, Man Dies of Aortic Dissection
  A Utah man went to a medical clinic in November 2011 complaining of chest pain that radiated to his abdomen. He was initially diagnosed as having constipation. A 55-year-old driver for the Utah Transit Authority experienced pain in his chest and abdomen that prompted him to go to a local medical clinic. The man was […]
• Jury Awards $14.9 Million for Patient Paralyzed by Negligently Administered Steroid Injection
  A jury recently awarded a Colorado couple $14.9 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that an outpatient surgery center was negligent in administering a steroid to the patient. As a result, the woman suffered paralysis from the waist down. She is unable to walk and will require around-the-clock care for the rest […]
• Car vs. Motorcycle Crash Sends Man to Hospital with Serious Injuries
  Recovering from an auto accident can take a toll on your emotional and physical well-being, not to mention the financial burden that comes with trying to cover the expenses associated with the crash. While an attorney can help obtain compensation for your loss, this can take more time than your finances can withstand. Once a […]