January 26, 2024 – Mike Nakamura obtained a $2,060,291 verdict for a grieving widow arising out of medical malpractice in Jacksonville, Florida. After a bitterly contested trial, a federal judge made the award.
The deceased husband was 54 years old and had been ill with a flu-like illness for several weeks. He had visited the emergency room three times. In a fourth visit, this time to his family practice, the health care provider diagnosed him with a common cold, despite symptoms that were inconsistent with a cold, such as lightheadedness, shortness of breath and night sweats, and despite not having a runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes, fever and other symptoms of a cold. He told the healthcare provider that he did not believe he had a cold or the flu, and he specifically requested bloodwork to find out why he was not getting better. Yet, the healthcare provider ignored the red flags and his request for bloodwork. She noted that he had a cold, and did not order a complete blood count. Instead, she ordered a lipid or cholesterol test, completely unrelated to his illness. Several days later, he was hospitalized and after bloodwork, was found to have pancytopenia (a decrease in all 3 blood cells) and passed away in the next 48 hours.
Mike was able to obtain the proper medical experts and prove that the husband more likely than not had an evolving blood cancer, lymphoma, and that had the bloodwork been obtained a week earlier, he would have been diagnosed, hospitalized, stabilized and then treated, which would more likely than not have saved his life. Mike was able to demonstrate that this cancer had an 83% survival rate, and the deceased would have survived with timely diagnosis and treatment. There was no settlement offer, and we are so honored to have represented the widow in obtaining this hard-fought result, which will assist her in moving forward in her life.