$5M Settlement for Death Following Stem Cell Transplant

Attorneys Daniel S. Weinstock and Carolyn M. Chopko secured a $5 million settlement for the family of a young mother who died from massive brain hemorrhages after her hematologist/oncologist failed to order an emergency CT scan when she reported a severe headache following a stem cell transplant. The case was complicated by the fact that after the hemorrhages were diagnosed, the defendant doctor engaged in an apparent coverup to hide his negligence.

The patient had a history of B-cell lymphoma and was admitted to a Philadelphia-area hospital for the stem cell transplant, which was successfully performed. Approximately two weeks into the patient’s hospitalization, her nurse called the defendant hematologist/oncologist to report that she had a new onset headache she rated at 10 out of 10 — a sign of a condition called thrombocytopenia, where the blood lacks enough platelets to clot properly, potentially leading to dangerous bleeding. The patient had a low platelet count of 11,000, and the standard of care required an immediate CT scan and prompt platelet transfusions. The defendant ordered neither.

Later that night, the nurse found the patient on the floor. She again called the defendant hematologist/oncologist, who still did not order imaging. It was not until about six hours after the patient first reported her headache that the defendant finally ordered a CT scan after she was found unresponsive. The scan, completed just 31 minutes later, identified major subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhages with significant midline shift. Life support was ultimately discontinued after multiple consultants agreed there was no hope for recovery.

Establishing liability against the defendant doctor was complicated by the fact that after the hemorrhages were diagnosed, in an apparent attempt to cover up his negligence, he drafted a note to the medical chart claiming the nurse had reported the patient’s headache was “similar in character to prior headaches” — which runs counter to headaches associated with an intracranial bleed. Weinstock and Chopko were prepared to present evidence on multiple fronts to prove that the note was false.

An expert neurologist retained by Weinstock and Chopko was prepared to testify that the locations and patterns of the bleeding strongly indicated a spontaneous bleed triggered at the time the patient first reported her headache, exacerbated by her later fall, and that she likely would have had a normal outcome with timely care. Weinstock and Chopko also were prepared to establish through an expert hematologist/oncologist that the stem cell transplant would have likely put the client into full remission, and that she would have gone on to live her life free of this disease but for the negligence of her doctor.

The settlement will provide financial security to the patient’s two young children.