Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Results in $2.5 Million Award

According to a recent lawsuit, Lawrence Dixon, 59, died in May of 2007, two days after suffering from a pelvis fracture after a fall. When the lawsuit was first filed it included the Montgomery General Hospital and other medical staff but finally was limited to Dr. David Harding, Dixon’s primary care doctor. The lawsuit claims that Dr. David Harding failed to note Dixon’s internal bleeding during his examination. Dixon’s family who filed the lawsuit claim that if Dr. Harding had noted the internal bleeding that he would have been able to save Dixon’s life and that his failure to diagnose the bleeding led to Dixon dying from multiple organ failure.
The lawsuit also claimed that Dr. Harding should have seen multiple signs that could have made him aware of the problem and one of those signs included that Dixon had failed to produce urine in twenty-four hours. Some of the other signs included a rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure, and a loss of lucidity.

The defense for this case claimed that Dixon died due to a medication called kayexalate. It is a thick drink that causes a reduction to potassium levels. They claimed that Dixon drank the shake and it went into his lungs cutting off his oxygen. However, Dr. Harding failed to state this anywhere on Dixon’s death certificate. The jury awarded Dixon’s estate and his wife each $1 million in non-economic damages and also awarded $250,000 to each of Dixon’s children.

Unfortunately, sometimes doctors and other medical professionals fail to provide an accurate diagnoses or proper medical care. This can cause patients to suffer additional injury, the need for more medical treatment or even in serious cases lead to death. If you or someone you love feels that you have not received proper medical care or treatment when visiting your doctor and this has led to a more serious problem or injury, then you should speak with a Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer right away.