A medical malpractice lawsuit has been filed against a handful of emergency physicians and medical groups who tended to an Albany man at Holzer Clinic of Athens back on April 15, 2016. The man, Michael R. Gillen, 43, was later diagnosed with “necrotizing fasciitis, a rare “flesh-eating” bacterial infection that destroys soft tissue under the skin,” and tragically passed away on April 20, 2016, at the Ohio State University Medical Center where he had been diagnosed with the disease.
A medical malpractice lawsuit has been filed against a handful of emergency physicians and medical groups who tended to an Albany man at Holzer Clinic of Athens back on April 15, 2016. The man, Michael R. Gillen, 43, was later diagnosed with “necrotizing fasciitis, a rare “flesh-eating” bacterial infection that destroys soft tissue under the skin,” and tragically passed away on April 20, 2016, at the Ohio State University Medical Center where he had been diagnosed with the disease.
The lawsuit is being filed because it took so long, and multiple visits to various hospitals, before Gillen was properly diagnosed. As a result, the lawsuit, filed on behalf of Gillen by his family, charges “that the defendants were negligent and breached appropriate standards of care, with Gillen suffering tremendous mental and physical pain and suffering prior to his wrongful death.” Additionally, the lawsuit claims that no one “included an infectious-disease process in the diagnosis of Gillen and nobody performed diagnostic tests to that end or antibiotic treatment,” even in light of “the objective and subjective signs and symptoms which pointed directly to an infectious disease process.”
As it stands right now, the lawsuit is seeking “both compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorney fees and court costs,” and claims that “Gillen’s wife and two children continue to suffer profound and extreme mental anguish and grief.”
So what exactly transpired between April 15 and April 20? Why did it take so long for Gillen to get a proper diagnose? Well, according to the lawsuit that was filed in Athens County Common Pleas Court last month, “Gillen went to Holzer Clinic of Athens on the evening of April 15, 2016, with complaints of fever, body aches, congestion, chills, a cough, and headache, with a temperature of 102.2 degrees.” From there he was prescribed Tamiflu and was sent home.
However, his symptoms continued to worsen. Eventually, he went to the “OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital Emergency Department where he described having right lower-leg pain and swelling, an abnormally fast resting heart rate, and flu-like symptoms.” Again, he was sent home and was scheduled for an ultrasound the following morning. However, the pain in his leg got so bad that he ended up returning via ambulance around 5 a.m. Once admitted, he was “given painkillers, and despite his father specifically asking whether his son would benefit from antibiotics, a doctor said such treatment was not necessary,” according to the lawsuit. In fact, the family claims they repeatedly asked about whether Gillen should receive antibiotics and were repeatedly denied.
Unfortunately, once hospitalized, Gillen “suffered numerous cardiac arrests due to sepsis and underwent emergency resuscitation.” Finally, after 14 hours of being admitted, he was prescribed antibiotics to stabilize him for an emergency helicopter ride to OSU where, according to the lawsuit, “medical staff diagnosed him with necrotizing fasciitis in his right leg” and “performed an emergency amputation of Gillen’s right leg.” It soon became apparent, though, that the infection was too advanced to save his life.
So far all the defendants have denied the various allegations against them.
Sources:
Defendants deny claims in medical malpractice lawsuit
Family of man who died of bacterial infection sues hospital, several others
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