When we go in for a procedure at the hospital or doctor’s office, we expect our caretakers to exercise the greatest caution and live up to the Hippocratic oath to “do no harm.” And, in most cases, that’s exactly what happens. Our doctors perform a great service for our country and should be given the admiration that the profession demands. However, there are times when doctors make mistakes. In fact, it’s estimated that 98,000 people die each year in the United States because of a medical error.
Two lives were lost at Moses Taylor Hospital in Pennsylvania on March 2, 2009. Jo Ann Page, who was pregnant with twins, went to the hospital to give birth and went into preeclampsia, a severe condition that led to a seizure. The seizure detached the placenta from the womb, and the result was two stillborn children, Chloe and Kylee.
Page sued the hospital and two doctors for failing to monitor her for preeclampsia in the time leading up to the birth. Late last month, the lawsuit was settled, with Page getting a $4.25 million deal. Typically, settlements are kept private, but the judge in the case ruled that it was in the public’s best interest to know what had happened in this tragic case.
If you’ve been the victim of a misdiagnosis, a wrong-site surgery or any other type of doctor error, you may want to consult with an attorney. Compensation won’t bring back loved ones or make you whole again, but it can ease the burden and may just stop it from happening to someone else.