73 year-old Sonia O’Connor, celebrated her win in court on May 5, 2010 for $1,533,000 in her incorrect treatment lawsuit against two Philadelphia doctors.

In October 2005, O’Connor was admitted to a Philadelphia hospital suffering from back pain. Doctors diagnosed her with a destructive infection and thoracic osteomyelitis, requiring very close attention that she unfortunately did not receive. During her stay in the hospital, Mrs. O’Connor began to have more and more difficulty walking. Despite this, the hospital released her to stay in a nursing home with a only a prescription for antibiotics and physical therapy.

Sonia O’Connor was never referred to a spine specialist or neurologist for further assessment of her condition and later lost the ability to walk completely. With the testimonials of medical experts, Mrs. O’Connor’s attorneys were able to prove to the jury that her condition was improperly treated which led to her paralysis.

“If Mrs. O’Connor received the proper medical attention during her initial visit to the hospital and subsequent care while in the nursing home, she would have full use of her legs today. Instead, she has partial paralysis, limited use of her legs, and will require ongoing medical care for her condition.”

The estate of a woman in Mississippi has been awarded more than $579,000 in a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital after an accident at the facility resulted in her leg being amputated.

According to court documents filed in Hattiesburg Circuit Court, 69 year-old Jessie Lee Johnson, who is now deceased, had knee replacement surgery in August 1998 at Forrest General Hospital and was transferred to a rehabilitation unit. The lawsuit contends that on September 7, 1998, a hospital aid was taking Johnson to the restroom in a wheelchair. The aid removed the left foot rest on the wheelchair and backed into the restroom, according to the lawsuit. As the aide was pushing Johnson out of the bathroom her foot got caught under the wheelchair and her knee dislocated.

Johnson required additional surgeries and another knee replacement after the incident and subsequently got an infection that required her leg to be amputated above the knee.

The jury returned a verdict for $579,789.54. A lawyer for Johnson’s family said her clients were pleased with the verdict.

A Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney can be very helpful in situations similar to this one.

A report released by Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille shows that the number of new medical malpractice lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania courts fell for the fifth year in a row.

Philadelphia, often considered the center of the state’s malpractice crisis, saw the most dramatic declines in new suits and large jury awards in 2009, as well as an increase in defense verdicts. Roger Baumgarten, a spokesman for the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania said “the data continue[s] the positive trend of reductions in the number of medical liability lawsuit filings statewide as the result of reforms adopted in 2002.”

According to the report, the number of new Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawsuits in fell from 1,602 cases initiated in 2008 to 1,533 in 2009. Last years numbers marked a 47 percent decline from the 2,904 suits filed in 2002.

Philadelphia medical malpractice lawsuits fell even more dramatically to 491 from 1,365 in 2002, a 64 percent drop.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of Pennsylvania medical malpractice, please contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. by calling 610-667-7511.