$1 Million Settlement for Failure to Timely Diagnose and Treat a Cerebral Aneurysm

The family of a 49-year-old man received a $1 million wrongful death settlement as a result of his physicians’ failure to timely diagnose a cerebral aneurysm. The client, who had 2 close family members suffer cerebral vascular accidents (CVAs), presented to his family practice physician with complaints of headaches. The family physician ordered a CT scan of the brain, and referred him to a neurologist. The CT scan was misread by a radiologist as normal. In fact, it showed the presence of a small cerebral aneurysm. The neurologist failed to obtain copies of the films himself, and did not order any other imaging studies of the brain. He assured the client that he had “cluster headaches” from tension, and claimed not to know the family history of CVAs. The client subsequently suffered a massive stroke from the cerebral aneurysm (which grew over time), and died shortly thereafter. Blume Donnelly Principal Michael Zerres obtained a $1 Million settlement on behalf of the man’s family.