A Phillipsburg woman was awarded $2 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
A Northampton County Court jury returned a verdict Friday in the case of 71-year-old Pauline Raffaele. Rafaele was admitted to EAston Hospital on June 21, 2005 for a replacement of her left arthritic knee. The day after the surgery Raffaele complained of numbness in her left foot, which she was unable to move. By 3:00 p.m. that day, a rehabilitation doctor was consulted and found that Rafaele's leg was white, and she had no feeling in it. Emergency surgery later revealed an undiagnosed blood clot in the toot.
A month later, doctors had to amputate her leg below the knee. A short while later, doctors were forced to remove more of her leg, above the knee.
The jury found the hospital to be 40 percent negligent, and a former nurse named Shelly Benson, to be 60 percent negligent. Benson did not alert doctors to Rafaele's deteriorating condition.
If you or someone you love has been the victim of Philadelphia medical malpractice or negligence, please contact the experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. to learn more about the legal options available to injured patients. Please call 215-238-1130 today.