Preventable Pulmonary Embolism Results in Wrongful Death of Mother of Six

The Eisen Law Firm Wrongful Death Case Facts

Ms. Brown had been experiencing shortness of breath and heart palpitations on and off for a few weeks, so she made an appointment to see her primary care physician. The physician was aware of Ms. Brown’s medical history of poorly controlled diabetes, high blood pressure, and morbid obesity, which are well-known risk factors for the development of blood clots. Unfortunately, the physician did not order a work-up to determine whether Ms. Brown had a blood clot. Instead of sending her to the emergency department for immediate evaluation, the physician ordered outpatient testing and sent her home.

After the appointment, Ms. Brown did as her doctor said and returned home to spend the evening with her family. The next morning when she woke up, she was feeling unwell. While her fiancé prepared their children for school, Ms. Brown tried to go back to sleep. A short time later, her fiancé found her unresponsive. Emergency services were called immediately, and CPR was started. Unfortunately, paramedics pronounced Ms. Brown deceased at the scene. An autopsy later determined that she had suffered a massive bilateral pulmonary embolism, meaning large blood clots had blocked both pulmonary arteries in her lungs and caused a cardiopulmonary arrest.

The Eisen Law Firm Wrongful Death Case: Investigation & Building the case

Following this devastating loss, Ms. Brown’s family began asking difficult questions. They wondered whether warning signs had been missed and whether earlier intervention could have saved her life.

The Eisen Law Firm conducted a thorough review of Ms. Brown’s medical records and researched relevant medical literature. The records showed that Ms. Brown had multiple risk factors for pulmonary embolism, along with symptoms that can signal the condition. The medical literature confirmed that pulmonary embolism should have been suspected and treated.

The Eisen Law Firm put together a strong team of experts to review and prosecute the medical malpractice and wrongful death case, including experts in the specialty fields of Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine. These experts opined that Ms. Brown’s symptoms and risk factors should have prompted immediate emergency department evaluation. If she had been sent to the hospital, doctors would have performed diagnostic imaging (including a CT scan optimized for finding blood clots) and blood testing, and the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism would have been made. At that point, the pulmonary embolism would have been treated with blood-thinning medication that would have prevented her arrest. In other words, if Ms. Brown had been sent to the hospital, she would have received medical treatment that would have saved her life. Her death was preventable.

The Eisen Law Firm Wrongful Death Case: Negotiations and Proposed Settlement

Lead Counsel, Todd Gurney, has been handling medical negligence and wrongful death cases at The Eisen Law Firm exclusively for nearly 20 years. In this case, Mr. Gurney was able to convince the defense team that if the case were to go to trial, a jury would likely find that the physician was negligent for not sending Ms. Brown to the hospital, and that Ms. Brown’s death was preventable – if only she had received the proper care and treatment. As a result of the thorough pre-trial work, both sides agreed to mediate the case instead of going to trial, which resulted in a successful, high six-figure settlement for the family.