Litigation

Delay in brain surgery leaves 22 year old girl in vegetative state

By Michael Kaplen

News reports from California on a jury award of $12 million on Thursday to a Southern California woman who was left in a vegetative state after a hospital delayed proper neurosurgical care for her brain injury. 

According to the reports, this 22 year old individual had been shot in the head by an air gun and was rushed to the hospital fully conscious where she was able to walk into the emergency room. Unfortunately, the hospital either delayed performing surgery or failed to timely transfer her to a hospital capable of performing neurosurgery resulting in her being left in the persistent vegetative state.

The neurosurgeon who finally removed the bullet from her brain came to court and testified that the end result would have been different had he been called upon earlier to perform the neurosurgical procedure.

The continued bleeding and pressure on her brain and the delay in reducing this pressure caused permanent brain damage and she now requires 24-hour care.

If your family member has been a victim of medical malpractice, please visit the home page of the brain injury law firm of De Caro & Kaplen, LLP  for more information on how we can assist you.

Full post as published by Brain Injury News and Information on February 12, 2010 (boomark / email).