Contact: Stephen D. Phillips and Michael J. Phillips – Phillips Law Offices
Phone: (312) 598-0930
Emails: [email protected] | [email protected]
Breaking News:
We are proud to announce that Stephen D. Phillips and Michael J. Phillips were able to obtain a $2.5 million pre-suit settlement on behalf of a 78-year-old man who died when a resident physician punctured his heart three times during routine chest tube placement.
The incident occurred when our client was being treated for esophageal cancer. After he successfully completed his radiation and chemotherapy treatment, he was scheduled to undergo surgery to remove his esophagus. The surgery was uneventful and the pathology report showed that he was cancer free. However, three days post-surgery, a resident physician made a fatal error involving the placement of chest tubes.
The placement of chest tubes is a common post-surgical treatment when patients are having difficulty breathing. Chest tubes are inserted into the pleural space—the area surrounding the lungs—to drain any air or fluid that is pressing on the lungs and restricting breathing. Unfortunately for our client, the resident physician in charge of placing the chest tubes went well beyond our client’s lungs and ended up puncturing his heart. Our client shortly thereafter went into cardiac arrest and passed away, leaving behind his wife and adult daughter. The Defendant hospital vehemently argued that our client’s short-term and long-term outlook was very poor due to the reoccurrence rate of esophageal cancer as well as his underlying cardiovascular disease and risk of future heart failure. Moreover, our client had only been married for two years—something Defendant’s argued should limit the amount of recovery.
“It’s really unfortunate that after successfully fighting cancer and undergoing surgery, this man ended up dying as a result of this medical negligence,” said partner, Stephen D. Phillips. “I think it speaks volumes to the conduct in this case as well as to the mediation memo that we prepared that the defendants were willing to fairly resolve this case presuit.”
“I was sitting in the car with my father when we first spoke with the family,” said Michael J. Phillips. “To see this process through from start to finish and be part of the meditations was a valuable learning experience on how to resolve a case like this in a fair and timely manner.”
About Phillips Law Offices:
Phillips Law Offices represents victims of personal injury, medical malpractice, construction injury, automobile accidents, and trucking accidents.
For more information about this case or other legal matters, contact:
Stephen D. Phillips at 312-346-4262 or [email protected]
