Ratzan Rubio. Trial lawyers, advocates, counselors. Miami. Florida

Gail Gallagher, a fifty-three year old insulin dependent diabetic, suffered a heart attack and was rushed to Jacksonville's Baptist Medical Center, where she underwent quadruple bypass surgery. Recovering in the post-operative ICU on the fourth post -operative day, her doctor ordered a change in her insulin medication. The nurses violated hospital policy and also failed to follow the doctor's orders.

Despite serving Mrs. Gallagher her dinner, the intensive care nurses failed to administer any insulin to Mrs. Gallagher for five and a half hours and also failed to perform any blood testing. As a result, Mrs. Gallagher's metabolism and electrolytes became out of control. She suffered a cardiac arrest requiring forty-five minutes of resuscitation. She suffered profound brain injury. After a two week trial, the jury returned a verdict in Mrs. Gallagher's favor in the amount of $8.8 million.

Needing pancreatic surgery known as a Whipple procedure for a benign pancreatic tumor, Jane Doe, a 47 year old woman, underwent surgery at a local hospital.

Neither the hospital nor the surgeons had any significant experience performing Whipple procedures. During the surgery, the procedure was escalated to include a mesenteric vein graft with a jugular vein transplant. The graft failed, causing massive clotting and death of Jane Doe's digestive organs.

The damage required a four organ (intestine, stomach, liver, and pancreas) transplant. The case was settled for $5.5 million with the hospital and doctors.

Jennifer Doe, age 52, came off a plane from Haiti with fever and chills. She was rushed by ambulance to the defendant hospital.

An internist and infectious-disease doctor were assigned. Anti-malaria medication was ordered, but an incorrect type for the strain of malaria in this case. The nursing staff, meanwhile, failed to administer any anti-malaria medication (even the inappropriate kind) for almost 24 hours after it was ordered.

Mrs. Doe died in the hospital of malaria due to lack of anti-malaria treatment. The case was resolved with the hospital and doctors for $2.8 million.

Ms. Maria Doe had a pimple-like abscess under her arm. She also had fever and malaise when she presented to the defendant hospital's emergency room. After a 10 hour delay, Ms. Doe was finally admitted without a diagnosis.

An infectious-disease physician diagnosed toxic shock syndrome and called for immediate surgery to open and drain the pimple. The hospital surgeons refused to follow the infectious disease doctor's recommendation. The lead surgeon refused to operate on Ms. Doe, because, he said, it would be an insult for him to perform such simple surgery. Ms. Doe died at the defendant hospital due to the untreated pimple abscess causing toxic shock.

We pleaded a claim for punitive damages and filed the appropriate motions, on the grounds that refusing to operate to save a woman's life because it was beneath him to perform simple surgery amounts to a conscious disregard for human life on behalf of the doctor. The court agreed and granted our motion. The case settled soon thereafter.

These cases are examples of the achievements of our firm's attorneys. All are real cases. However, these examples should not be taken as a guarantee that the same results would be achieved in another case.



	RATZAN & RUBIO Trial Lawyers. Advocates. Counselors. Wachovia Financial Center, 200 South Biscayne Boulevard, 54th Floor, Miami FL 33131 Telephone: 305.374.6366 Fax: 305.374.6755
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