Failure to clear airway in a timely manner leads to permanent brain damage, $20 million plus verdict

News: In 2005, a woman entered a hospital with an existing infection in her mouth. Physicians determined that the woman needed an emergency tracheostomy to ensure no blockage to her airway would occur during treatment. The tracheostomy was successful, and her infection was treated with antibiotics. On the sixth day of her hospital stay, after her infection had subsided, her sister, a visiting guest, called for help because the tracheostomy location was bleeding and the breathing tube and blood were blocking the patient’s airway. The nurses did not have experience with tracheostomy tubes, and eventually an anesthesiologist cleared her airway, but the patient suffered brain damage from the lack of oxygen to her brain during the time her airway was obstructed. The brain damage resulted in the woman being disabled, unable to control the muscle functions of her body, confined to a wheelchair, and being in need of the care of others for the rest of her life. The woman filed a medical negligence claim against the hospital, and she alleged the hospital was negligent for the acts of employees that resulted in the tracheostomy tube obstructing her breathing and the employees’ failure to clear her airway in a timely manner. The hospital argued that the sister manipulated the tracheostomy tube, which caused the tracheostomy tube to be out of position and thus caused the ensuing injuries. The jury agreed with the woman and found the hospital was negligent for allowing the woman’s airway to be blocked and thus causing the brain injury that occurred before her airway was unobstructed. The jury awarded the woman more than $20 million in damages. It was determined the woman was entitled to approximately $1.7 million for past emotional distress and medical expenses; $4.5 million for disfigurement and loss of normal life; and more than $14 million for future medical expenses, emotional distress, and pain and suffering. In a lawsuit that lasted nearly a decade, the woman died the day prior to the jury verdict being reached in her favor, and her estate will receive the proceeds of the award.