Source: OLS
A woman who suffered a debilitating seizure after having a tumor surgically removed has won a $16 million verdict in a medical malpractice lawsuit against the medical school at which the surgery was performed, and the doctor who performed it.

Lourdes Landis went to Jackson Memorial complaining of headaches. She received an MRI scan which revealed she had a brain tumor. Dr. Jacques Morcos, the neurosurgeon who performed the procedure, also discovered that Landis had a condition known as Von Willebrand disease. This condition slows the coagulation of blood.

“The neurosurgeon sought a consultation with a hematologist to do surgery on her with that condition,” said Jay Halpern, Landis” lawyer. “The doctor did not follow the hematologist’’s recommendations.” According to Halpern, the MRI also showed that there was blood in Landis’ brain. The hematologist recommended that the doctor not perform the procedure because of the high risks associated with performing the procedure on such a patient. “We alleged that the surgery should not have been undertaken because the risks far outweighed the benefits,” Halpern said.

Halpern also claims the surgeon mismanaged the blood during the tumor removal. To make matters worse, after the surgery, according to Halpern, the doctor did not confirm Landis’ anti-seizure medication regimen. As a result, Landis suffered a brain seizure that left her incapable of returning to her job. Halpern said the neurosurgeon “prematurely discharged her while she was going downhill clinically.”