A Bridgeport Superior Court jury this month awarded a 72-year-old Southport woman $9.3 million as a result of a drug overdose that caused permanent injuries.
Barbara G. Lathan was admitted to Bridgeport Hospital in October 2007 for treatment of a urinary tract infection.
“This should have been a relatively simple medical issue,” said one of Lathan”™s attorneys, Kathleen L. Nastri of Bridgeport-based Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder. “Instead, she was given an overdose of the drug Lovenox and now will need a wheel chair and face ongoing serious medical issues for the rest of her life.”
“Aside from the initial urinary infection, Barbara was healthy, active and was enjoying life,” said another of Lathan”™s lawyers, Antonio Ponvert III, also of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder. “Then, the drug overdose caused her to die and be revived, resulted in her needing a half-dozen surgeries, caused a serious new infection, and forced her to endure excruciating pain. She went in for what should have been a very short admission and came out 75 days later, altered forever.”
The lawsuit had claimed that “as a result of the overdose of Lovenox, Barbara Lathan needed blood transfusions and multiple surgical procedures to evacuate the blood from her peritoneal cavity, contain and control the bleeding, and attempt to prevent further damage to (her) internal organs.” She subsequently developed a MRSA infection, according to the law firm.
Lathan”™s “injuries and damages were caused by the professional negligence of Bridgeport Hospital,” the lawsuit says. The jury awarded $9,279,884.95.
Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder has offices in Bridgeport, New Haven, Danbury, and Stamford.
