Gallbladder patient who died is to be compensated over $7 million due to medical negligence.
Nam Yoon Lee was admitted on June 18, 2008 to New York Hospital Queens in Flushing with biliary colic (a pain associated with gallstones) and an inflamed gallbladder. He was to have his gallbladder removed the following morning.
Unfortunately, the surgery was not performed. Nor was it performed the day after or the day after that -- a mistake the hospital admits.
In anticipation of his upcoming surgery, which was never to come, the patient was "NPO." That means he was not allowed to eat or drink prior to his planned surgery. He developed systemic sepsis, or an infection of the bloodstream, and required medical assistance by June 22.
The rapid response team failed to apply oxygen through a mask and ended up intubating Mr. Lee. During the intubation process, the patient asphyxiated and he was in full cardiac arrest 10 minutes later. 50 minutes later, he was pronounced dead at 3:50pm.
The hospital was forthright about its malpractice and liability, and a jury determined they are liable for $7,579,560 payable to Mr. Lee's family. The hospital is now appealing the verdict over the award.
Comment:
Why do I tell you about this tragedy?
Chances are that you're reading this and have questions or concerns about your surgery. Maybe you had a bad complication. Maybe something went wrong that you didn't expect. Maybe you have injuries now that you were never told about. The bottom line is that you probably have more questions than answers.
If you would like more information about how medical malpractice cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I invite you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at [email protected] to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
