Houston Trial Lawyers Russ Briggs, Greg Fibich Obtain $6.6 Medical Malpractice Verdict Over Failure to Diagnose & Treat Blood Clot

HOUSTON, Feb. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, February 15, a Harris County jury ruled in favor of a 29-year-old woman who suffers from permanent medical issues after physicians failed to properly diagnose and treat a blood clot she developed after a surgical procedure. According to court records, the case stems from a March 2012 surgery in which the then 23-year-old victim underwent a splenectomy to treat her anemic disorder.

Court documents indicate that after several days of testimony and deliberations, during which Attorneys Russ Briggs and Greg Fibich presented their arguments regarding the failures of defendants in meeting their duty of care, the jury panel ruled in favor of the plaintiff. They found that the treating surgeon and radiologist, Dr. Ziad Amr and Dr. Andre Arash Lighvani, were each negligent in failing to properly identify and treat the patient's portal vein thrombosis, a serious condition in which a blood clot forms in the blood vessel that transports blood from the intestines to the liver, and which can cause a number of harmful symptoms, including accumulation of fluid in the abdomen and other parts of the body and severe bleeding in the esophagus. The blood clot was not discovered until April 15, despite the patient's extended hospital stay due to fever and stomach pain, a CT scan performed by the doctors, and several emergency room visits.  Prior to trial, the claim against the treating hematologist was confidentially settled.

As a result of their substandard care and failures to timely diagnose and treat her condition, the victim still suffers from the blood clot and lasting issues that will require a lifetime of medical attention and treatment. Although she had been present during the entirety of the trial, she was not able to attend on the day the jury reached their verdict, as she was hospitalized to remove excess fluid from her lungs and abdomen, a side effect of portal vein thrombosis. Her condition also forced her to drop out of nursing school and delayed her career, and has recently forced her to work only part time.

The $6.6 million dollar verdict is one of the highest medical malpractice jury verdicts in Houston, Harris County, Texas in the last twenty years against individual doctors. It is a significant victory that highlights the importance of holding negligent medical professionals accountable for preventable injuries and lasting consequences that result from medical malpractice.

Russ Briggs and Greg Fibich are nationally recognized Houston Trial Attorneys with Fibich, Leebron, Copeland & Briggs, a personal injury law firm that has leveraged over a century of collective experience to secure notable victories in cases in which victims suffer serious and often life-altering injuries. The firm is currently representing Harris County in a federal civil lawsuit against the opioid industry. More about the attorneys and the firm can be found at www.fibichlaw.com.

SOURCE Fibich, Leebron, Copeland & Briggs