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As a result of the cancer that developed from the untreated granuloma and nodules on his vocal cords, Robert had to undergo radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and placement of a tracheoesophageal prosthesis. Robert also had to use a bi-level positive airway pressure machine (BIPAP) on a daily basis.
Eventually, as the cancer spread, Robert became completely immobile and was unable to ambulate without wheelchair assistance. Robert would require 24-hour nursing care for all aspects of daily life, and he underwent multiple hospital admissions due to recurrent leakages from the prosthesis that would cause aspiration pneumonia.
We quickly realized that Robert would unlikely survive the duration of the lawsuit, so we arranged for a videographer to film a video documenting a typical day in his life, for the purpose of preserving the evidence of his daily suffering, should a jury need to see it in the future at a time when Robert would no longer be with us. As expected, Robert passed away during the course of litigation, due to consequences from the cancer, including septic shock, triple organ failure, recurrent renal failure and double pneumonia, all of which led to his needless death.
As such, we filed an Amended Complaint against the doctor and the hospital to not only assert claims for medical malpractice, but also to allege a cause of action for wrongful death.
The case was vigorously defended by one of the top medical malpractice defense law firms in New York, and the litigation continued for over fours years. Justin Blitz, Esq. conducted a three day long deposition of the defendant surgeon, among many other depositions of various witnesses.
During this litigation, Schulman Blitz, LLP retained experts in otolaryngological surgery, pulmonology, lung transplantation, oncology, cystic fibrosis, and economics to prove our case on behalf of our client, who was now Robert’s widow.
With the help of our experts, and through Mr. Blitz‘s tireless efforts, we were able to show that as a result of the malpractice, Robert endured tremendous pain and suffering and had to undergo many medical procedures, which further exacerbated his pain and suffering. After the defendants’ motion to dismiss our case was vigorously opposed and then denied by the court, and after over five years of litigation, we agreed to an out of court mediation.
We prepared a video that was played during the mediation, which documented Robert’s life, the malpractice, terrible suffering, and Robert’s eventual death that occurred as a result of the surgeon’s negligence. Justin Blitz, Esq. and Fred Schulman, Esq. settled Robert’s case at mediation for $1,950,000, an amount that will provide for his widow and his daughter for years to come.