It’s a new year, and while that typically brings a host of new resolutions, ours remains the same it has always been – to provide our clients with the best legal representation available. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen and its award-winning team’s dedication to taking on medical malpractice cases and other complex litigation where individuals have been harmed by the negligence of others.
As we look back on the history of this firm, we’d like to celebrate a few of the times our medical malpractice clients got the justice they deserved.
Case 1: 8 Figure Settlement for Victim of Brain Injury Medical Malpractice
The first case on this list involves a 53-year-old woman, who was left unable to walk or talk after she suffered a hypoxic brain injury under the watch of a nurse.
Her incident began while she was undergoing treatment for a brain aneurysm in a South Florida hospital. Our client experienced an episode of intensive care unit (ICU) psychosis and became agitated and delirious, pulling on the tracheostomy tube connected to her neck. Over the course of the next 24 hours, she attempted to remove that tube on six different occasions, and the nurse watching over her did not intervene.
As our client’s psychosis worsened, she stripped herself of all life support and rolled from her bed onto the floor. She was found lifeless the next day and was left with permanent brain damage, that prevents her from caring for herself as a result of oxygen deprivation.
Our medical malpractice team pursued justice for her family and secured an eight-figure settlement for our client and her husband following an extensive investigation.
Case 2: 8 Figure Settlement for Victim of Cardiology Medical Malpractice
In this case, our client was also left unable to walk or talk due to the negligent care he received from his healthcare providers.
After suffering a heart attack, he was taken to a hospital where his doctors performed a cardiac catheterization to open and stent his blocked artery. Unfortunately, the stent failed to keep his artery open and he suffered another heart attack.
Following that second heart attack, medical staff took nearly 90 minutes to return our client back to the catheterization lab and his heart stopped while waiting for treatment. He was later revived but suffered a severe brain injury due to the time he spent without oxygen.
Our client and his family entrusted the hospital with his livelihood, and that trust was betrayed. He will now require 24-hour nursing care for the rest of his life.
We recovered an eight-figure settlement for the injured and his family for the injustice they experienced.
Case 3: South Florida Victim of Stem Cell Medical Malpractice
In 2015, our client Jeannine Mallard visited a Sunrise-based stem cell clinic and underwent a procedure to treat her macular degeneration. She paid $7,000 for the treatment, which the clinic said would improve her eyesight and claimed it had been successful with previous patients. However, shortly after receiving the treatment, Mallard’s illness progressed rapidly, and she suffered a retinal detachment. She will now need to undergo surgery to remove her eye altogether.
It appears the substance that the clinic injected into our client’s eyes was purchased from a janitorial supply company, and analysis determined the substance was made up of industrial grade enzymes not meant for human use. When not using those enzymes, these clinics are sourcing their ingredients for treatment from fat, or adipose-derived stem cells, which is an unproven method.
Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen attorney Andy Yaffa has led the charge against stem cell medical malpractice by fighting the predatory practices of clinics across the country. He is now seeking justice against this facility as well.
Mallard, Yaffa, and GRYC’s Alex Arteaga-Gomez recently spoke with investigative TV reporters Katie LaGrone and Carey Codd to discuss this case, which resulted in a special report that ran on ABC, NBC and Fox, and an investigative piece that aired on CBS.
Case 4: Stem Cell Malpractice Finds Another Victim in Georgia
Our firm is also seeking medical justice for Doris Tyler, a retired elementary school music teacher who suffered from macular degeneration as well. Hoping for an opportunity to cure it, she received stem cell therapy in both eyes from a Georgia clinic. She went blind in both eyes two months later and is taking legal action against the clinics and doctors who treated her.
Each year, countless patients like Tyler seek stem cell therapy for their illnesses and are left debilitated by these dangerous and experimental procedures. A majority of those stem cell operations are performed by unlicensed doctors in unregulated clinics that falsely advertise their services and mislead patients about the safety of their treatments.
Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen’s Andrew Yaffa was recently featured in the Washington Post for Tyler’s case, which helped expose the risks and dangerous practices associated with experimental procedures like stem cell injections.
If you or anyone you know is considering an experimental procedure, be sure to check out our blog, “7 Points to Consider Before Undergoing Stem Cell Therapy,” before scheduling an appointment. If you want to learn more about the risks of these therapies, you can also read our blog on a few of the shocking facts we’ve learned about stem cell procedures or visit our stem cell therapy malpractice page as well.
Case 5: Seven Figure Settlement for Victim of Cardiology Medical Malpractice
The final medical malpractice case we’re sharing involves a mother of three in her early 40s, who was admitted into a South Florida emergency department after suffering from the flu for several days. She fell into critical condition shortly after her arrival, and her doctors noted that she was facing an “impending cardiovascular collapse.” In addition to low heart rate and blood pressure, lab results showed evidence that her heart was damaged. Further scans revealed our client was suffering from cardiac tamponade, meaning her heart was surrounded by fluid and could not beat properly.
Tragically, the emergency department staff failed to relay that information to her treating physicians or nurses. When she was seen by a cardiologist more than 18 hours later, they finally realized the severity of her situation and attempted to relieve the pressure around her heart by placing a needle into the pericardial sac to drain the fluid. However, the hours her body had gone without proper blood flow resulted in irreversible damage and she died soon after.
In this drastic case of medical malpractice, the GRYC team was able to successfully secure a seven-figure settlement for our client’s family after hours of extensive litigation.
For additional information about our successful cases and to learn more about all the proven medical malpractice and personal injury work we have done for our clients, visit our results page.
.jpg)