A jury in Virginia has found in favor of plaintiff Leslie Thorne, and awarded her $1.8 million in her medical malpractice suit against Dr. David Glick. The lawsuit originally named two additional physicians, however Thorne’s medical attorney felt that her case against Glick was the strongest, and withdrew the additional claims to avoid a potential mistrial.
The problems began back in early June 2005, roughly four months following the birth of Thorne’s baby. She was experiencing shortness of breath, coughing and chest pains so she went to the ER. Her X-rays indicated her heart was enlarged, however she was sent home with a diagnosis of bronchitis and given an antibiotic.
Thorne returned a few weeks later with the same symptoms, and this time was told she was suffering from a virus and given another prescription. Eight more days passed and Thorne’s condition steadily worsened. On her third visit to the emergency room, despite the fact that she had swelling in her legs and an abnormal electrocardiogram, Dr. Glick diagnosed her with hepatitis, gave her more medication and sent her home with instructions to visit her primary care physician.
On July 18th, over a month after she originally sought medical treatment, doctors finally discovered that the 25 year old mother was suffering from a rare heart condition that was brought on by the birth of her child. Because of the delay in diagnosis, she was forced to undergo a heart transplant, which her medical attorney says could have been avoided had her condition been discovered and properly treated when she first began exhibiting symptoms.
She will now spend the rest of her life dependent on medication and will likely have to undergo another transplant in the future.
The jury only took three hours to arrive at their verdict. They originally awarded Thorne $4 million, but were forced to lower it because of Virginia’s medical damages cap.
Source: www.dailypress.com/news
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