October 04 2007
Northwestern Hospital & Well-Known Physician, Settle $2.9 MIillion Medical Malpractice Suit
CHICAGO, IL – Michael P. Schostok of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. announced a $2.9 million medical malpractice settlement was reached in Cook County (Illinois) on behalf of John and Diane Scholz. Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman of the Circuit Court of Cook County approved the settlement. [JOHN SCHOLZ and DIANE SCHOLZ, Plaintiffs vs. NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, DAVID GREEN, M.D., NORTHWESTERN MEDICAL FACULTY FOUNDATION, an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, Defendants]
According to Michael Schostok, on September 4th, 2000, John Scholz was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital following a diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. It was believed that a long overseas plane ride some weeks prior caused deep vein thrombosis that led to the life-threatening lung condition. Although his condition was stable, doctors believed he would benefit by having a clot-busting drug infused to dissolve the clots in his lungs. That evening the nurse who administered the medication miscalculated the dosage and gave Mr. Scholz too much of the drug over too short a time. John Scholz began to bleed from his tongue, forehead, and face, at which time the medication was discontinued. Despite obvious signs of bleeding, none of the residents and interns caring for Mr. Scholz discovered the misinfusion. The following day he was seen by world-renown hematologist, Dr. David Green. Dr. Green noted that Mr. Scholz had slowed mentation, a clear sign of neurologic injury. Despite this warning sign, no action was taken by Dr. Green to discover that Mr. Scholz had been misinfused with the powerful clot-busting drug the evening before. Other doctors at Northwestern also recognized that Mr. Scholz appeared worse from the day before and ordered a CT scan to rule out an intracranial bleed. The CT scan order was never signed and the test never performed. Hours later Mr. Scholz was found in his bed unable to speak. A CT scan was finally done which revealed a massive intracranial bleed which left Mr. Scholz with physical and cognitive deficits.
“According to the Independent Institute of Medicine, 1.5 million people are harmed by medication errors in U.S. hospitals every year. John Scholz was a statistic like so many other Americans,” said Attorney Michael Schostok. This powerful drug was given to Mr. Scholz in the middle of the night when only inexperienced residents and interns were caring for him. The following day the true nature of his condition went undiscovered even though several of his doctors were concerned about the possibility of an intracranial bleed. Much of the responsibility falls upon Dr. David Green, who is known throughout the world as one of the foremost experts on blood coagulation problems. Not only did Dr. Green fail to recognize that Mr. Scholz had been misinfused the evening before, but he also double-dosed John with two blood thinners which contributed to the ultimate catastrophic bleed. This case shows how multiple mistakes can happen even in large, well-respected hospitals under the care of famous doctors” Schostok said.
