$950,000 Settlement for Failure to Heed Results of Blood Tests

The firm secured a $950,000 settlement on behalf of an 18-year-old young lady who, at the age of 14, sustained kidney damage while being treated for ulcerative colitis. Her creatinine levels rose from 1.0 to 4.0, very abnormal, before seeing defendant Dr. Sunyaro. Her condition remained undiagnosed for 11 more months, until March of 2005, during which time her physician, Dr. Sunyaro, failed to notice her serum creatinine increased from 4.0 to 6.9. Specifically, the physician neglected to note the results of blood chemistry lab work which revealed increased serum creatinine from April 2004 through March 2005. The young woman is now asymptomatic, attending college, and her serum creatinine is back down to 2.5. The firm worked with an expert who opined that the woman will eventually require a kidney transplant, although it is not known whether this will occur in 5, 10 or 20 years. It is also unclear how much of the kidney damage occurred before our client saw defendant Dr. Sunyaro, and how much occurred after his malpractice. Despite the difficult causation and damage issues, the firm was able to settle this claim for $950,000.