Complaints of severe headaches in pregnancy can be a sign of a life-threatening condition known as venous sinus thrombosis.
Case Summary
Our client, a pregnant woman with no prior headaches visited an ER in New York twice for severe headaches but was discharged without neurological evaluation. She later had a seizure due to venous sinus thrombosis, causing vision loss and brain injuries. Our medical malpractice attorneys proved the hospital’s failure to properly evaluate her condition, resulting in a nine-million-dollar settlement.
Case background
- Our pregnant client who had no history of headache disorder went to the emergency department of a major New York City hospital complaining of a headache she rated as “8” on a scale of “1-10
- The emergency department physician attributed her headache to pregnancy and discharged evaluation
- Our client returned to the hospital the next day complaining her headache was worse, and was again sent home with no neurological evaluation
- Our client had a seizure the next day at home, and was taken to another hospital where an MRI revealed a stroke in the veins of her brain, known as venous sinus thrombosis
- This stroke caused loss of blood supply to the optic nerve causing loss of vision and other brain injuries
Actions taken by De Caro & Kaplen, LLP
- A careful history from our client, along with a review of her hospital records, and consultation with medical experts, revealed the failures in the care she received
- Our malpractice attorneys instituted a lawsuit against the hospital and its doctors for failing to properly and thoroughly evaluate our client’s condition including taking a necessary MRI scan of her brain
- This scan would have revealed the development of venous sinus thrombosis and prompt treatment could have prevented a blood clot and her eventual loss of vision, partial paralysis, and other neurological injuries
- Careful questioning of all the physicians involved in our client’s care confirmed her history and complaints and the failure to rule out this life-threatening condition through appropriate and necessary brain MRI study
Case outcome
We successfully resolved our client’s case for over Nine Million Dollars.
If you have suffered from venous sinus thrombosis, which has been improperly diagnosed or treated, you have a right to sue the doctor or hospital responsible. Contact our medical malpractice attorneys today.