Resident Physician Improper Treatment - Seizures and Memory Loss
As jury selection was to begin, a settlement was reached by Edward Bithorn on behalf of a 64 year old retired woman who had been admitted to Brooklyn Hospital with presumed gastrointestinal bleeding. In treating her, defendants placed a central line catheter which caused her to develop neurological symptoms including weakness, slurring of speech, and eventually seizures upon removal of the device three days later.
After consulting with expert witnesses, Ed planned a two-pronged attack. First, that placement of the catheter was contraindicated and amounted to a training exercise by the young resident physicians at this teaching hospital, and second, that defendants failed to timely call for a neurology consult once the patient began having symptoms that deprived her of early treatment and less severe permanent neurological damages. The patient continues to suffer from a seizure disorder and memory impairment. To convince a jury there was liability, Ed was prepared to show that even though plaintiff's memory of the event was poor, the pre-trial testimony obtained by the defendant resident physicians was contrary to certain notations in the Hospital record, thus raising an issue about defendants' credibility.