Free Consultations 24/7
Request A Call HereSometimes, a patient has a medical condition which makes it difficult for doctors to treat any new conditions that might pop up. One common issue is when doctors need to perform a medical procedure or surgery but the patient is on blood thinners.
Continue reading similar articles: Medi Spa Malpractice: Laser Hair Removal Burn & Nail Salon Infection Lawsuits
There are many conditions that can make the blood clot more than it is supposed to but whatever the reason, 
the fact is that if a blood clot travels to the brain, lungs, or legs, the patient’s life is at risk. This is why doctors often prescribe blood thinners.
However, if an accident or a new medical condition pops up, blood thinners can make it difficult to perform the physical procedures that need to be done. Once a cut has been made, it is hard to get the patient to stop bleeding, so then doctors are forced to either administer an antidote (if one exists for that particular drug) or administer a blood transfusion.
This is why it’s common for doctors to order their patients to stop taking blood thinners a few days prior to a scheduled procedure but even this comes with risks and the patient should be closely monitored.
Recently a jury awarded a plaintiff $62 million because his doctors failed to properly care for him when they knew he wasn’t on his normal blood thinner regime
In 2010, the plaintiff who suffers from a genetic disorder that causes his blood to clot abnormally went to the ER for back pain, weight loss, and fatigue. The doctors were concerned that he may have a GI issue so they told him to discontinue taking his blood thinners so that a colonoscopy could be performed. He was then sent home.
He returned to the hospital two days later where it was discovered that his blood had hypercoagulation. His physicians, who had been looking for possible lymphoma during the colonoscopy scheduled him for a lymph node biopsy and he was admitted, however, for some reason, a bone marrow biopsy was performed.
When he was released, a separate physician recommended that he immediately begin taking blood thinners again but his original doctor canceled that order and informed that patient to wait another week before resuming, despite the fact that he knew the blood was already clotting more than normal.
Shortly after being discharged the patient’s family rushed him back to the hospital where he was diagnosed with life-threatening blood clots in both his lungs and his legs. He was given high doses of blood thinners and admitted, but the damage to one of his legs was irreversible and it became gangrenous forcing doctors to amputate.
The plaintiff chose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital, saying that if doctors had correctly started him again on blood thinners, he would never have lost his leg. In addition to his medical expenses and physical pain and suffering, he alleged that their decisions have caused him to become isolated, depressed, anxious, and immobile.
The case did go to trial despite attempts made to negotiate a settlement and for eight days both parties presented their evidence. At the end of the trial, the jury determined that the hospital was at fault and awarded the plaintiff $62 million.
Despite numerous medical schools and world-renowned doctors, most clients are shocked to learn that their case is just one of thousands filed every year. In fact, of all medical malpractice lawsuits filed in the United States each year, New York lawsuits account for almost a quarter of them.
In the past, our legal team has helped patients who were harmed due to:
In each case, it was clear that a doctor, nurse, hospital, physical therapist, or other medical professional failed to follow the accepted standard when treating their patient’s medical condition.
For more articles on medical malpractice lawsuits, see: $18 Million Awarded To Woman Who Was Misdiagnosed Twice
