Heart attacks are a terrifying, life-threatening condition for many Americans. In Chicago, individuals who are predisposed to heart problems are often aware of their limitations and take active steps to ensure that they are keeping their hearts as healthy as possible to prevent attacks and other heart-related traumas. One way that many individuals deal with their potentially problematic hearts is to seek medical attention when they believe they might be suffering from heart issues. As beneficial as we all hope this would be, it does not always turn out so.
In 2014, a Cook County resident visited a doctor at Edward Hospital to participate in a nuclear exercise stress test. The test was intended to evaluate his heart and revealed that the patient suffered from plaque in some of his coronary arteries. The doctor responsible for his care then subjected him to an angioplasty, a procedure intended to clear the plaque blockages, but the procedure did not accomplish its intended purpose.
After completing the failed angioplasty but before consulting with his patient, the doctor then apparently undertook a second procedure to clear the patient’s arteries. During the second procedure one of the patient’s coronary arteries was accidentally cut and he suffered personal injuries and losses as a result of the doctor’s negligence.
The patient recently filed a lawsuit against the doctor and the hospital where the procedures occurred. The victim alleges that the doctor performed an unauthorized procedure when he performed the second procedure without the victim’s consent. Lack of consent, mistakes, and other medical practitioner errors can form the grounds for medical malpractice lawsuits in Illinois. Individuals with questions about these types of cases can speak with attorneys who include in their practices personal injury law.
Source: cookcountyrecord.com, “Patient claims doctor performed needless procedure,” Robert Hadley, Feb. 5, 2016
