$1.43 Million Settlement – Misdiagnosis Of Heart Complaints Results In Death

A 42-year-old drywall worker went to a Kaiser Hospital urgent care center, complaining of severe pain in his upper abdomen and chest with pain radiating in his left arm and back. He was diagnosed with heartburn and acid reflux. The next day he felt worse and went to a different Kaiser Hospital emergency room where he was diagnosed with gastrointestinal problems. An EKG and blood tests were not ordered. He was sent home and died the next day of an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). We contended that the two Kaiser hospitals failed to investigate his complaints adequately, did not take a medical history and did not do basic blood tests and an EKG. Kaiser Hospital argued that the symptoms of a heart attack were not yet present when he went to either of the hospitals. He was survived by a wife and two minor children.