Joe was receiving short-term rehabilitation care in a nursing home to help him recover from a recent stroke. He was alert, still thinking clearly, and able to talk and visit family and friends. Unfortunately, Joe could no longer eat nor drink on his own, so he and his doctor decided that a feeding tube was the best solution. The tube needed to be inserted into his stomach surgically, so the next morning Joe was taken by ambulance to a hospital for the procedure.

After the relatively simple procedure to insert the feeding tube, Joe was wheeled to a recovery room for observation. There, Joe should have been monitored more closely. But according to medical records, four hours passed and Joe was not checked.

When the ambulance returned to transport Joe back to the nursing home, medics checked the level of oxygen in Joe’s blood. It was dangerously low, even “terrible,” according to one ambulance medic. This issue was reported to the nursing home when they arrived, yet the home took no measures to solve the problem and help Joe.

Because his body was still working to recover from the effects of the stroke, aspiration pneumonia set in quickly. Joe’s condition worsened rapidly. Unfortunately, the nurses at the nursing home failed to monitor him closely, despite their knowledge of his oxygen shortage.

Later that night, more than 10 hours after the procedure, Joe was found dead in his room. The autopsy revealed that he died of aspiration pneumonia. Had any nurse or doctor checked on Joe and intervened, they could have easily saved his life. Yet, as the medical records confirm, he was not adequately monitored.

Joe should not have died that day. He could have continued his recovery from the stroke and returned home to his family. He could have been saved.

In our medical malpractice cases, we see to it that the medical facilities and staff responsible for failures like these are held accountable, and that our clients and their families receive compensation to make their injuries or loss more bearable.

Medical malpractice cases are often won or lost over the content and interpretation of the medical records. Unlike many firms, we have a legal nurse consultant on staff. As a registered nurse with 30 years of experience working with patients and doctors, our legal nurse consultant is fluent in the language of the medical profession. She knows how to read between the lines in medical records and frequently points out subtle but important legal implications to our attorneys. With her professional insights, our legal nurse consultant helps us obtain the highest settlements possible in medical malpractice suits, nursing home malpractice and catastrophic injury cases. She also assures that clients have the right long-term care plan that will serve them long after the case is done.

While not every bad medical result is due to medical negligence, our legal nurse consultant helps us determine if the medical care provided to our client measures up to the standards of the profession. We, and the experts that we coordinate, carefully review mistakes to see if they were avoidable. Out of the dozens of cases that we evaluate each year, we find one or two where a diagnosis was indeed missed or a clear medical standard was breached. In those cases, we will file suit.

Here are some types of cases that we have handled recently:

• Failure to manage blood loss during surgery
• Failure to manage a history of high blood pressure during pregnancy
• Drug overdose in the hospital, resulting in patient’s death
• Prescription of the wrong drug in the hospital, resulting in injury
• Birth injuries
• Missed diagnoses, such as cancer and heart disease

All of these cases started with an in-depth interview conducted by an attorney and a nurse. If you think you may have a case like those listed above, or any other malpractice case, call us to schedule an interview so we can determine the next step. Bring with you anyone who has knowledge of the case. The meeting is free of charge.

If we take your case, we will collect all necessary medical records. We will also hire medical experts to review your case. You do not pay, however, unless we collect for you.

It is in your best interest to call an attorney. Doctor’s groups have successfully pushed through laws making pursuit of your rights difficult, especially in Missouri. For example, expert doctors must file a “certificate of merit” indicating that you may have a case. Furthermore, while medical malpractice cases are among the most complex, you only have two years in which to file. Today, it seems that the rules are written in favor of doctors; you need a skilled and dedicated legal team on your side.