Connecticut Hospital Ordered To Pay $9.2 Million Medical Malpractice Award
After deliberating for less than two hours, a Connecticut jury ordered Bridgeport Hospital to pay a $9.2 million hospital malpractice award to 72-year-old Barbara Lathan, of Fairfield. Lathan is now wheelchair-bound for the remainder of her life after a series of missteps and mistakes by hospital staff turned a routine admittance for a urinary tract infection into a nightmarish ordeal.
According to state records, the verdict was one of the largest against a Connecticut hospital for a malpractice claim. And after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the tragic case, NY medical malpractice lawyers say that justice has been served for the elderly woman who spent 75 days in the hospital – at times battling for her life.
Hospital malpractice award one of the state’s largest
Barbara Lathan went to Bridgeport Hospital a healthy woman and was discharged wheelchair-bound and in need of medical treatment for the foreseeable future. What began as an ordinary admission for a urinary tract infection transformed into a life-altering sequence of negligent acts by hospital personnel, who overdosed the patient not once, but six times with blood-thinning medications, causing her to bleed uncontrollably into her abdomen.
Lathan then developed a blood clot and went into sudden cardiac arrest and was forced to endure emergency surgery and several blood transfusions. While recouping from the operation, Lathan developed a serious MRSA infection – one that is resistant to most antibiotics – and a massive abscess formed in her neck, leading to additional operations and a partial removal of her shoulder bone.
If these injuries and complications weren’t catastrophic enough, five years later, Lathan’s surgical incisions re-opened, letting her organs bulge out through the wound. “It would be an understatement to say that Bridgeport Hospital violated the standard of care in Barbara Lathan’s case,” the woman’s attorneys stated.
Connecticut hospital offers apologies, may appeal the verdict
Following Lathan’s incident, Bridgeport Hospital developed supplementary protocols designed to minimize injuries associated with high-risk drugs. The facility has also initiated a new electronic medical record system that is designed to reduce the number of medication errors. The State Department of Public Health recorded 20 events involving serious disability or patient death resulting from medication mistakes within Connecticut hospitals between 2005 and 2011.
Legal advocacy from NY medical malpractice lawyers
Jurors determined that Ms. Lathan’s injuries and damages were caused by the professional negligence of Bridgeport Hospital, and handed down their multi-million dollar verdict. Compensation recovered in this type of medical malpractice claim takes into account the severity of a patient’s injuries, the type of hospital malpractice alleged and non-economic losses like pain and emotional trauma.
If you or someone you love has been harmed while in the care of health care providers, you may have grounds for pursuing legal compensation. To learn more about your options for filing suit, contact The Sanders Firm – a nationally acclaimed law firm specializing in medical malpractice litigation. Our lawyers have a successful track record of favorable verdicts and settlements for people who’ve suffered personal injuries or economic harm caused by medical negligence, dangerous drugs and defective medical devices. Schedule your free case evaluation by calling our offices toll-free at 1.800.FAIR.PLAY.
