Success In Kidney Disease Cases
Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, P.A., has an established history of successful litigation based on our attorneys’ careful and thorough preparation in each case. Below are some verdicts and settlements we have achieved on medical malpractice claims related to kidney disease.
Hawaii Jury Verdict — $6.1 Million Delayed Referral
A Hawaiian jury in Honolulu returned a verdict for our client on a medical malpractice claim against Dr. Seid, a Wahiawa general practitioner physician. Antonio Richardson, a 45-year-old glazier who worked for his own company in Central Oahu, was approved for $4.1 million in special damages and another $2 million in general damages. According to the court testimony, Richardson was treated for kidney failure in June 2004 — more than two and a half years after an abnormal lab sample showed signs of kidney disease. Dr. Seid ran reported tests which included blood and urine tests, and all the results were indicative of kidney disease. When Dr. Seid finally referred Mr. Richardson to a specialist, it was discovered that Richardson was suffering from end-stage kidney failure and, as a result, suffered catastrophic injury to his health and his business.
Miami Jury Verdict — $5.7 Million For Missing Open And Obvious Kidney Disease
A 37-year-old truck driver brought suit against three urologists and/or their professional associations for failure to timely and appropriately diagnose kidney disease. The jury determined that these doctors failed to properly examine the plaintiff and as a result missed the open and obvious signs of treatable kidney disease. The firm established that the doctors clearly should have known or seen the kidney disease and referred the patient for appropriate treatment. By failing to do so, the plaintiff lost use of both kidneys and needed a kidney transplant with all of its co-morbidities.
Florida Supreme Court Decision — $4.1 Million After Failure To Diagnose Kidney Failure
The minor plaintiff was 6 years old when she underwent a kidney transplant. The family alleged that the transplant resulted from medical malpractice on the part of the defendant pediatrician in failing to timely diagnose and treat the child’s kidney failure. The defendant maintained that the minor plaintiff’s kidney failure developed suddenly and there were no indications of the disease at the time in question. The jury found the defendant negligent and awarded the minor plaintiff $3.8 million in damages. The award included $700,000 for loss of future earnings, $157,000 in past medical expenses, $2.7 million in future medical expenses, and $230,000 for past and future pain and suffering. The court granted plaintiff’s motion for additur in the amount of $270,000 for additional pain and suffering of Monica Gutierrez, which defendant did not reject.
This case went to Florida’s Supreme Court as the Third District Court of Appeal determined treating physicians were hybrid experts despite being treating physicians. The Florida Supreme Court determined and clarified an expert is not a treating doctor per case law and reinstated the verdict plus interest. This groundbreaking case was cited in the January/February edition of the Florida Justice Journal as a demonstration of how the trial testimony of a subsequent treating physician can flip causation by shifting the plaintiff’s burden of proof.
Confidential Settlement
A young man had a kidney disease that was not diagnosed by his internist for over two years. Young man in his early 30s was a computer developer and lost his career and ability to work and travel due to horrible effects of dialysis and kidney failure. He’s since gone on to have a kidney transplant from a donor that was found during the course of litigation, and this matter was confidentially settled on the eve of trial.
Confidential Settlement in Arizona
A child’s primary care doctor and endocrinologist failed to diagnose his kidney disease until the Plaintiff was a teenager. The patient had elevated and rising creatinine levels and blood in the urine for over 6 years. The young man was forced to delay his college education due to horrible effects of dialysis and kidney failure. He has since gone on to have a kidney transplant.
Confidential Settlement in Arizona
A man in his early 20s whose primary care clinic and nephrologist failed to diagnose his kidney disease for over 4 years. The young man lost his career and ability to work and travel due to the horrible effects of kidney failure. The Plaintiff continues to live with chronic kidney disease due to the Defendants’ failure to timely diagnosis him.
Confidential Settlement
A case involving the United States of America in a Federal Tort Claim Act against the Veterans Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. The veteran was misdiagnosed with flank pain and a kidney stone which resulted in the backing up on his urine leading to increased creatinine and hematuria. Ultimately, the failure to diagnose the kidney stone lead to obstruction in his left uteral, which caused his left kidney to fail. His right kidney also began to show signs of distress. Prior to trial, settlement resolved in mediation to allow the injured veteran to continue the treatment necessary to retain his right kidney’s function.
Confidential Settlement
For a 35-year-old woman who was under the care of her gynecologist to receive assisted conception treatment. Despite many routine exams including lab work, the Plaintiff’s gynecologist failed on multiple occasions to bring to the patient’s attention the abnormal lab results and failed to refer the patient to a nephrologist despite many indications of renal disease. As a result, the patient is now in end-stage kidney failure and will require a kidney transplant due to the doctor’s failure to conform to the standard of care.
Settlement Awarded — $150,000
Our lawyers were able to secure a $150,000 settlement for an elderly gentleman with misdiagnosed kidney disease.
