There was a $2.35 million dollar medical malpractice verdict against Shady Grove Hospital in Rockville, Maryland on Monday August 9, 2010. A 24-year-old Hispanic Silver Spring, Maryland lady was taken to Shady Grove by ambulance after having stomach pain. She had been to the hospital 2 days earlier with kidney stones. Doctors at Shady Grove were found by the jury to have violated the standard of care by misdiagnosing a kidney blockage and this lead to a terrible infection that spread throughout her body.

As a result of the doctor’s failure to make a proper diagnosis, a septic infection went untreated for at least 12 hours and gangrene set in. Eventually, part of her leg and foot had to be amputated, and several of her fingertips fell off (this occurrence is called auto amputation). The Plaintiff’s attorney Julia Arfaa said that the jury “absolutely did the right thing. They listened to the evidence and they understood this case.”

The Plaintiff had immigrated to the United States from El Salvador when she was 8, and worked as a maid when this incident occurred in 2006. About $190,000 of the verdict will go to pay the plaintiff’s past medical expenses. We believe that many Hispanics and other ethnic minorities who do not have health insurance often get medical care that is below the standard of care and that medical doctors often do not give them the time and attention that they are entitled to in the emergency room.

If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of a medical mistake or a misdiagnosis, contact a personal injury lawyer at our firm by calling (888) 213-8140. We have attorneys who are also registered nurses to evaluate your case and there is no charge for an initial consultation.