Patient Wins $16M Malpractice Lawsuit

Christina Cole

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A woman was awarded $16 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit against a University of Miami doctor that performed brain surgery to remove a benign tumor in December.

The surgeon prescribed anti-seizure meds for her after having a tumor removed from her brain, said her lawyer. However, she suffered a seizure after being released from the hospital which left her brain damaged.

"The doctor is supposed to give anti-seizure medicine." "If he doesn't and she gets a seizure, then it's malpractice. We alleged that surgery should not have been undertaken because the risks far outweighed the benefits."

Landis' only complaint when she first came to Jackson Memorial, a facility with up to 1,100 UM doctors on staff, was headaches. She visited UM's medical facilities for an MRI scan where her tumor was discovered, Halpern said.

The neurosurgeon, Dr. Jacques Morcos, also discovered that Landis had a bleeding condition called Von Willebrand, Halpern said. Von Willebrand is a hereditary disease that causes blood to take longer to clot, similar to hemophilia, according to the Florida Hemophilia Association.

"The neurosurgeon sought a consultation with a hematologist to do surgery on her with that condition," Halpern said. "The doctor did not follow the hematologist's recommendations."

After the surgery, doctors said they didn't confirm the anti-seizure medication levels before discharging her from the hospital which suggests she may have went wrong home with the wrong medication.

Two days after being discharged from the hospital she suffered from a seizure. The brain damage left her incapable to return to work.