Missouri Man Awarded $550,000 for Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Posted on Dec 12, 2008 12:43pm PST
Recently, a Jasper County jury awarded a slip-and-fall injury victim a $550,000 verdict after he filed a
medical malpractice lawsuit against Freeman Health System and the two physicians who provided him with medical treatment.
The trial lasted 4 days and ultimately, the jurors concluded that 54 year old John R. Brooks was entitled to $250,000 in past noneconomic damages, $25,000 in future economic damages and $275,000 in future noneconomic damages for the alleged medical negligence of Dr. Marzetta Parks of Freeman OccuMed in Neosho and Dr. Jason Blasenak of Freeman Neosho Hospital.
Brooks was injured on March 27, 2006 while working as a sterilizer at the Milnot Co. condensed milk products plan in Senneca, Missouri when he slipped and fell in the workplace. When he fell, the upper left side of his torso hit the floor, which caused fractures to his ribs. The fractures went undetected and led to extensive bleeding in the cavity of his chest over the course of several days.
Initially, after being injured, Brooks went to the emergency room and was then sent to Parks at Freeman OccuMed. However, Brook's attorney claimed that Parks
misdiagnosed his client's rib fractures because she failed to order a computerized tomography scan. She sent him back home with a few restrictions and did not give Brooks proper treatment. Due to the doctor's negligence, Brooks' hemothorax continued to develop in his chest, which led to severe breathing problems.
Brooks went back to Parks for a follow-up visit on April 3, 2006. During that visit, the rib fractures and internal bleeding were discovered. However, the pleural effusion in Brooks' chest had already rapidly progressed. Still, he was sent back home without a CT scan.
The plaintiff alleges that Parks failed to investigate the cause of his pain and also failed to refer him to a specialist. As a consequence, he developed more serious conditions, suffered unnecessary pain, incurred permanent damage to his lungs and developed continual shortness of breath. The physical damages led to him having to step down from his position with his employer.
Both physicians and Freeman Health System claim that they did nothing wrong when treating Brooks. Yet, the jury felt differently, and awarded Brooks $550,000 for his injuries, pain and suffering and lost income.
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