ER failed to diagnose accident victims bleeding from blunt abdominal trauma

$1,500,000

A sixty-six year old working woman was injured as a passenger in an intersection accident and taken to the ER on a Sunday morning in August. She arrived at 10:45 and was admitted for rib fractures. No “FAST” bedside sonogram was done before or after she was admitted for observation. During the afternoon her blood pressure and respiratory rate dropped ominously. A test then revealed loose fluid in the abdomen. Emergency surgery commenced and bleeding was found, but it was too late at that point at 4 pm to save her life. An administrator of her estate was appointed, a medical malpractice suit commenced, and after considerable discovery the case was settled on behalf of the family.