Family Awarded $1.25 Million In Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
A jury awarded nearly $3 million to the estate of a man who died after his esophagus tore while he was swallowing a piece of steak, finding an Alexandria radiologist liable for misdiagnosing the man's condition as a hiatal hernia. However, as is common practice in various states the jury verdict was reduced to about $1.25 million. People don't realize the impact that caps can have on everyday people. In this case the jury heard all of the evidence and awarded what it believed was a fair amount. In this wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit the facts were that Alvarez ate some steak and felt pain in his throat. He went to the hospital and was told her had a hiatal hernia and was given oral medication for this.
However later that night Alvarez was taken by ambulance to Inova Fairfax Hospital after complaining of severe pain in his chest. After running tests and taking images, doctors discovered a perforated esophagus. As a result of this, Alvarez ended up dying ten days later from complications related to attempted surgery. When determining a fair amount of money Alvarez should receive his wages should be taken into account. In this case he was making $100,000 a year as a technology specialist for the Defense Information Systems Agency and was retired from the United States Air Force where he was receiving a pension. It's sad that jury awards get reduced in wrongful death cases like this.
