$3.3 Million Settlement – Woman Left Brain Damaged and Blind Due to Medical Negligence

A 34-year-old woman was left permanently blind and brain damaged as a result of a negligent heart procedure. Complaining of increased heart rate during exercise, she sought the care of her doctor. Tests concluded she suffered from a condition in which her heart rate increases rapidly when engaging in rigorous exercise and her doctor recommended surgery. In order to map the heart and locate the cause of the patient's increased heart rate, the doctor performed an electrophysiology study with radiofrequency ablation. When doing so, the doctor did not use adequate visualization of the heart. As a result, the doctor did not realize that he had inserted a radiofrequency catheter into a coronary artery and then "burned" the artery causing the patient to go into cardiac arrest. Emergency surgery was performed by another physician. However, the patient was deprived of oxygen and suffered brain damage resulting in the complete loss of vision and mild cognitive deficits. The firm settled the case for $3.3 million.