Last week, Florida personal injury firm Stewart Tilghman Fox Bianchi & Cain, P.A. secured a major medical malpractice verdict on behalf of a 77-year-old stroke victim.
Gary D. Fox, Stephen F. Cain, and Michael E. Levine from the Miami firm proved that plaintiff Graciela McCallum was treated negligently by her doctors, causing her to suffer a stroke that rendered the left side of her body useless. A Miami-Dade County jury awarded the plaintiff $7,919,000, comprised of $6.25 million for pain and suffering, and $1.75 million for economic damages. According to the firm’s information, this verdict may be the largest ever returned by a Florida jury for a medical malpractice victim aged 70 or older.
McCallum’s suit alleged that her stroke was caused by the negligence of her general cardiologist and electrophysiologist—a cardiology specialist who focuses on issues of heart rhythm. Ms. McCallum had been diagnosed with (among other heart conditions) atrial fibrillation, a condition that increases the risk of stroke and blood clots. In 2008, Ms. McCallum received treatment for some of her heart ailments by implantation of a pacemaker and defibrillator.
In the course of her treatment, her cardiologists stopped prescribing her Coumadin, a blood-thinner designed to prevent blood clots and strokes. In October 2013, Ms. McCallum suffered a debilitating stroke that paralyzed the left side of her body. Her attorneys successfully argued that the stroke was caused in part by the stoppage of Coumadin.
For more information about the verdict, visit here.