Atlanta Legal Nurse Consultant Assists Atlanta Attorneys With Negligence Case -- Jury Awards $1.7 M Verdict

13 Year Old Girl’s Parents Compensated For Damages From Hospital Computer Glitch


Atlanta, Georgia – Atlanta legal nurse consultant, Liz Buddenhagen, RN, CLNC, assisted attorneys with a medical negligence case involving a little girl who was 8 years old at the time of the incident.

The result of the jury trial was a $1.7 million verdict.

Here’s what happened:

The 8 year old girl was taken to the hospital emergency department by her parents for sore throat and fever. She was diagnosed with non-strep sore throat and instructed to drink plenty of fluids and take ibuprofen. The parents were also instructed that further testing for strep infection would be done and that the parents would be called by the hospital if the lab result were positive. The result was positive, meaning the little girl had strep throat, but the parents were not notified.

The girl’s condition worsened over the next month and after two other emergency room visits, at both the original hospital and a subsequent hospital, she was taken to a pediatrician’s office where the doctor detected a heart murmur. Subsequently, the girl was diagnosed with Rheumatic Heart Fever, a rare diagnosis in the United States, although common in some undeveloped countries with poor access to healthcare and antibiotics.

Since that time and for many years in the future, possibly the rest of her life, the girl has to have monthly antibiotic shots. There was mild heart valve damage found.

Months after the lawsuit was filed, the original treating hospital identified their error as a computer glitch during the change over from one lab reporting system to another and this little girl’s positive lab result was not sent to the emergency room staff.

“The plaintiff attorneys initially hired our firm to review the medical records, create a timeline and provide analysis” said Buddenhagen. “Later, we located appropriate and qualified medical expert witnesses to opine and testify in court.”

“We make it a point to attend trial, whenever possible” she said. “It is important to us to observe how the cases are presented in court by both the plaintiff and defense teams and to evaluate our expert witnesses.”

“We are proud that our work helped this law firm achieve a favorable outcome of $1.7 million verdict for this little girl and her family.”

Atlanta legal nurse consultant Liz Buddenhagen, RN, CLNC, has 30 years experience in hospital nursing in many areas including critical care. She and her legal nurse consulting team work nationwide on healthcare issues of legal cases.

To view the website, go to www.Legal-Nurse-Consultant-LNC.com. Contact Liz Buddenhagen for a free initial consultation at Liz@BuddenhagenLNC.com or call 770-725-2997.

Contact Information

Liz Buddenhagen, RN, CLNC

Principal

Buddenhagen & Associates

Contact via E-mail