5/10/2017 Following a week long trial, a Cook County jury has returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C. client in the amount of $4,800,000.00 for the wrongful death of a 31 year old man due to medical malpractice. The jury verdict was featured in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.
Trial attorney Joshua L. Weisberg of Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C. filed the lawsuit on behalf of the man’s family and estate and represented them at trial. The case involved an orthopedic surgeon who performed an elective surgery to repair a ruptured quadriceps tendon in the man’s right leg. One week after surgery the man died due to a blood clot that had developed in his leg after surgery and traveled to his lungs where it became lodged, cutting off the blood flow from the man’s heart to his lungs.
The lawsuit alleged that the surgeon should have identified the patient as being at high risk for a post-operative blood clot and provided him with a blood thinner after surgery. The surgeon denied the man was at high risk for a blood clot, denied that a blood thinner was indicated, and blamed the man for causing his own death by failing to get out of bed after surgery allegedly in violation of his discharge instructions. After hearing all of the evidence and argument, the jury found the surgeon deviated from the standard of care by failing to order a blood thinner. The jury also found the patient was contributorily negligent and allocated 20% of the total fault to him. The jury awarded $6,000,000.00 in damages, which was reduced by the decedent’s 20% contributory fault, to the net verdict amount of $4,800,000.00.
Following the trial Mr. Weisberg stated, “This case was about a preventable death. The surgeon should have recognized that his patient was at high risk for post-operative blood clots based on the known risk factors. He should have ordered a blood thinner for his patient after surgery. Instead he did nothing to protect his patient from developing blood clots and as a direct result his patient died of a pulmonary embolism a week after surgery.”
Mr. Weisberg added, “The young man who passed away was by all accounts an incredible person. He was engaged and set to be married in a month. He was extremely close with his parents, and he had many friends. He was a school bus driver who loved his job, but his true passion was music, and he continued to pursue his music career up until his untimely death. It was a long road for the family to obtain accountability for his wrongful death. I’m just grateful that at the end of the day after hearing all the evidence the jury provided that accountability.”
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