CHICAGO (July 6, 2023) – The Law Office of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. recently obtained a $1 million policy limits settlement on behalf of a woman who was forced to undergo additional procedures and wear an ostomy bag after being prematurely discharged from the hospital despite signs of infection post-surgery.
On April 27, 2015, 56-year-old Tracy Hughes underwent a radical hysterectomy, bi-lateral salpingo-oophorectomy and lymph node sampling at Advocate Sherman Hospital to resect an adenocarcinoma. During the surgery, her doctor perforated Mrs. Hughes’ transverse colon, a known risk of surgery.
Following the surgery, Mrs. Hughes remained hospitalized and was placed in the care of defendant gynecologist, Dr. Melissa Miller. The first three days of Mrs. Hughes’ postoperative course appeared to be relatively normal, and any abnormalities could easily be explained as both complications of surgery as well as a potential intra-abdominal issue. However, on May 1, Mrs. Hughes began to show signs of impending infection. Even if some of her signs and symptoms could be attributed to other conditions, these conditions did not rule out the possibility of an infection.
On May 2 and 3, Mrs. Hughes’ lab values began deteriorating and Dr. Miller failed to round on the plaintiff during these days.
On May 4, despite negatively trending lab values, Dr. Miller discharged Mrs. Hughes from the hospital to a rehab center. After one day at the rehab center, Mrs. Hughes went into septic shock and was transported back to an outside hospital. At the hospital, she underwent an emergency laparotomy which revealed stool in her abdomen. As a result, Mrs. Hughes required two subsequent wound debridement procedures and had an ostomy bag for three-months.
Defense attorneys allege Dr. Miller was not informed by the nursing staff of Mrs. Hughes’ conditions. However, Plaintiff’s attorneys assert an audit trail showed Dr. Miller looked at the plaintiff’s chart on at least one occasion prior to discharging her that day.
“Dr. Miller all but abandoned her patient, leaving her in the hospital for essentially three days without the benefit of a gynecological surgical team rounding on her. To make matters worse, she discharged her without fully appreciating her signs and symptoms of infection,” Plaintiff’s attorney David J. Rashid of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. said.
Dr. Miller paid her full $1,000,000.00 policy to resolve the matter. Two defendants were dismissed prior to settlement. Dr. Miller was represented by Amy Garland of Kominiarek, Bresler, Harvick & Gudmundson, LLC.
The Plaintiff was also represented by attorney Rob L. Kohen of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C.
For more information, please contact Marcie Mangan at (312) 372-1227 or mmangan@salvilaw.com.
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Case No. 2019 L 012674 [TRACY HUGHES and RAYMOND HUGHES, Plaintiffs, v. MELISSA MILLER, D.O.]
