$3,000,000 Settlement for Failure to Diagnose Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Blume Donnelly partner Michael B. Zerres represented a woman, now 54, who went to a local hospital in August of 2009 complaining of headaches. A CAT scan and an MRI of the head were performed, and after a radiologist misinterpreted the studies as negative, the client was sent home. However, the images actually revealed a sentinel or small bleed from a cerebral aneurysm. Approximately two weeks later, the client returned to the same hospital with worsening headaches. At that time it was discovered by CT Scan imaging that the woman had a brain bleed known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage and she was immediately transferred to another hospital for emergency surgery. However, by that time, the client had already sustained significant damage to the brain as a result of massive bleeding. Had the sentinel bleed been diagnosed two weeks earlier, it was asserted that the leaking aneurysm could have been repaired without resulting injury to the brain. The client is now confined to a wheelchair, has difficulty speaking and has cognitive deficits. The case settled for $3,000,000 against the radiologist and his employer.