$2,000,000 Settlement in Medical Malpractice Action Against Hospital for Delayed Reaction to Low Blood Pressure

The plaintiff was admitted to the hospital for a lung biopsy. After the surgery the plaintiff was administered dilaudid for pain and transferred to the recovery area. During the next 17 hours plaintiff had documented low blood pressure and would not wake up. When she was awakened she could not speak and could not move her right arm or leg. A CT scan was performed which showed the plaintiff had suffered a stroke to the left temporal lobe. As a result she suffered permanent speech aphasia and stroke related disabilities to her right arm and leg. The plaintiff filed suit alleging that the hospital nursing staff negligently gave the plaintiff too much dilaudid and further failed to react to prolonged hypotension. The plaintiff further alleged that the prolonged hypotension caused reduced blood flow to the brain which led to the stroke. The defendants denied the allegations, argued there was no drug overdose, and that the plaintiff’s injuries were not caused by prolonged hypotension. The case settled shortly before trial.