A jury in Baltimore County, Maryland has awarded $1.44 million to the family of a man who died after doctors failed to properly treat a case of sepsis.

According to court documents, the family of Thomas Murphy filed a lawsuit against St. Joseph Medical Center of Towson, and several doctors, after Murphy died of sepsis on June 11, 2007. The Baltimore County Circuit Court jury ruled that doctors at the hospital failed to provide proper care for Murphy. Doctors beleived Murphy had some kind of infection, but thought it was most likely pneumonia. Doctors administered a series of tests on Murphy, and he was given a broad spectrum antibiotic. Murphy was pronounced dead the next morning.

Sepsis is a severe inflammation that results from the body’s reaction to an infection, and can cause high heart rate, high respiratory rate, high body temperature, and an elevated white cell count. Sepsis causes organ damage and failure, severe cases result in death 20 to 35 percent of the time.

If you or a loved one has suffered an illness or injury due to the negligent actions of a doctor or another health care worker, contact a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.

A surgeon in Los Angeles has been ordered to pay a Maryland patient and his wife $800,600 in a medical malpractice case.

According to court documents, Dr. Hrayr Shahinian performed an inappropriate surgery on George Ralli and then altered a pathology report to cover up his failure to remove a tumor. Shahinian admitted that he did not remove the tumor, but denies ever altering a document or trying to conceal the error.

Ralli and his wife traveled from Maryland to see Shahinian in 2006. A small, non-cancerous tumor behind Ralli’s left ear was threatening his hearing, and a childhood case of mumps had already destroyed the hearing in Ralli’s right ear. A judge said that Shahinian “was more interested in marketing then he was in medicine” when he sold the couple a minimally invasive procedure.

The $800,600 award included $300,000 for “intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

If you or a loved one has suffered an illness or injury due to the negligent actions of a doctor or another health care worker, contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.