Success Stories
J. TUCKER MONTGOMERY, M.D., J.D., FCLM, has successfully pursued a number of health care liability claims during his career. Below is a small sampling of our successful cases:
$5,233,590.50 trial verdict - Roben and Timothy Carter vs. United States of America, U.S. District Court, Nashville, December 2013, failure to diagnose and treat breast cancer at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital and clinics.
$6,048,486.00 trial verdict - Tina Shultz vs. United States of America, U.S. District Court, Nashville, failure to diagnose streptococcal meningitis in patient presenting to the B.A.C.H. emergency department resulting in loss of fingers, portions of feet, nose and other areas from disseminated intravascular coagulation due to sepsis.
CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS REACHED IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING CASES:
Family Practice Cases
- Failure of family practice physician to send a suspicious mole specimen to pathology to be tested for cancer. Patient was subsequently diagnosed with malignant melanoma and underwent extensive chemotherapy and radiation due to the delayed diagnosis.
- Failure of a family practice physician to perform additional testing following shave biopsy of suspicious mole diagnosing malignant melanoma resulting in advanced metastatic melanoma cancer and death of patient.
- Failure to diagnose lung cancer in patient with known smoking history and suspicious spot on chest x-ray.
- Failure of a family practice physician to work up blood in urine resulting in delay in diagnosis of bladder cancer and death of patient.
Birth Injury
- A child suffered permanent, irreversible brain damage when an obstetrician and nurse midwife failed to correctly interpret and act upon signs of fetal distress apparent on the fetal monitor strip.
- Failure to deliver child by emergent cesarean section when signs of fetal distress were present on the fetal heart monitor strip resulting in permanent, irreversible brain damage to the child.
- Failure to diagnose kernicterus (high bilirubin level) in newborn child resulting in permanent, irreversible brain damage.
- Failure to appropriately deliver using proper positioning which resulted in Erb’s Palsy.
Emergency Medicine Cases
- Failure to diagnose ruptured disk problem and consult neurosurgeon for surgical intervention resulting in permanent spinal cord damage.
- Failure to diagnose aortic dissection resulting in death of patient.
- Failure to diagnose streptococcal meningitis and timely administer antibiotic treatment to child who presented to the emergency department and was admitted to the hospital.
- Failure to diagnose and appropriately began treatment for heart attack upon presentation to the emergency department. Patient suffered brain damage and ultimately died in the hospital.
- Failure to diagnose cervical spine injury in patient involved in motor vehicle accident. Patient was discharged from the emergency department in unstable condition and returned to the emergency department with permanent paralysis.
- Failure of emergency room physician and neurologist to diagnose Guillain Barre Syndrome resulting in permanent brain injury due to respiratory depression.
- Wrongful death of patient who presented to the E.R. for back pain with treatment causing an overdose of narcotic pain medications.
- Failure to appropriately evaluate and refer a patient who had acute loss of bowel and bladder function along with “saddle numbness” resulting in cauda equina syndrome.
Surgical and Anesthesia Errors
- Failure to diagnose spinal hematoma following back surgery resulting in permanent drop foot, incontinence of bowel and bladder.
- Failure to diagnose compartment syndrome following orthopedic surgery resulting in leg amputation.
- Cervical disc removed inappropriately resulting in quadraparesis.
- Anesthesia error during surgery on child in resulting in hypoxic brain injury.
- Wrongful death due to failure to diagnose and treat malnutrition following gastric bypass surgery.
- Failure to appropriately perform bowel surgery resulting in sepsis, death.
- Injury to spinal cord during administration of epidural anesthesia for gallbladder surgery.
- Anesthesia error during surgery on child to repair heart defect resulting in hypoxic brain injury.
Nursing and/or Hospital Errors
- Failure to appropriately prescribe a Duragesic patch for pain control at discharge resulting in respiratory failure and death of patient.
- Failure to treat respiratory distress in pediatric patient with RSV resulting in hypoxic brain injury and ultimately death of patient.
- Failure to diagnose respiratory distress in patient with Duragesic pain patch resulting in brain injury then death.
- Delayed treatment of allergic reaction resulting in death of a hospitalized patient.
- Failure to diagnose and treat croup by impaired physician and nursing personnel resulting in death of child.
- Failure to nursing personnel to recognize signs and symptoms of internal bleeding/hemorrhagic shock in a post-surgical patient resulting in brain damage.
- Failure to recognize signs and symptoms of bleeding/hemorrhagic shock following a heart cath procedure resulting in death of patient.
- Failure to send surgical specimen to lab for definitive pathologic diagnosis resulting in possible undiagnosed cancer, need for extensive follow-up testing.
- Failing to appropriately resuscitate pediatric patient resulting in brain damage and eventual death.
Nursing Homes
- Over sedation of elderly patient resulting in respiratory arrest and eventual death.
- Failure to adequately turn patient and treat skin breakdown resulting in stage IV decubitus, sepsis and death.
Pre-Hospital Care
- Failure of EMS personnel to properly, evaluate and transport a patient with heart attack symptoms resulting in death hours later.
- Failure of EMS and/or helicopter ambulance providers to properly intubate a child resulting in permanent, irreversible brain damage.
Urgent Care Clinic
- Failure to diagnose and treat pneumonia in child resulting in respiratory arrest and death of child.