Medical Malpractice – Neurologic Injury

We achieved a settlement of $8,750,000 on behalf of a 54-year-old bookkeeper, who suffered Wernicke’s Encephalopathy following bariatric surgery.  Thiamine deficiency is a well-known complication associated with bariatric surgery.  If untreated, the patient can suffer permanent injury to the thalamus and hypothalamus (called Wernicke’s Encephalopathy).  The standard of care requires ingestion of Vitamin B1 (thiamine) supplements post-operatively.  In this case, the hospital failed to give our client the required thiamine supplements.  After 3 months of persistent thiamine deficiency, the patient suffered irreversible brain damage and now needs 24-hour supervision.