Portal Vein Thrombosis Misdiagnosis Lawsuit

Morgan v. Johns Hopkins Hospital is a failure to diagnose portal vein thrombosis case filed against Johns Hopkins Hospital.  This page talks about this specific lawsuit and portal vein thrombosis lawsuits generally.

Summary of Plaintiff’s Allegations

A Baltimore County woman is diagnosed with solid pseudopapillary neoplasm, a disease of the pancreas, by the doctor. She is advised that she needs Whipple surgery, an operation to remove part of the pancreas, small intestine, and bladder. She was admitted to Defendant Johns Hopkins Hospital for surgery.

During the surgery, the Defendants cause an injury to the woman’s portal vein, which they fail to discover during the surgery. For the next two years, under the care of the Defendants, the woman experiences a continuum of medical problems and complications including but not limited to difficulty eating, vomiting, nausea, and pain.

Test results reveal during the post-operative period that the woman has an enlarged spleen. This coupled with other diagnostic studies should have led the Defendants to test the woman further. Further evaluations would have led the Defendants to discover that the woman had sustained a portal vein thrombosis (PVT). An angiogram would have definitively ruled in or out portal vein thrombosis, was not done. An endoscopy, which also would have diagnosed the problem, as also not done. It is not until two years following the surgery, under the care of other medical providers, when the woman learns for the first time the true nature, extent, and cause of her medical injury.

The woman files a medical malpractice lawsuit in Baltimore City. She alleges that the Defendants violated the standard of care by failing to diagnose the serious nature of her problems and take proper action to treat her. As a result, she has been forced to and continues to suffer long periods of serious physical and emotional pain and discomfort, has undergone multiple additional procedures and medical treatment, and has a diminished quality of life.

Portal Vein Thrombosis Misdiagnosis Lawsuits

Portal vein thrombosis happens when a blood clot partially or completely blocks blood flow in the portal vein, which carries blood to the liver. In about half of all cases, doctors can’t figure out what causes it. PVT can occur on its own (primary) or be caused by another condition like liver disease (secondary).

For primary PVT, it can be due to unknown reasons, issues after certain medical procedures, or problems with blood clotting. When PVT is secondary to liver disease, the liver becomes scarred (fibrosis) from damage, which raises pressure in the portal vein. As a result, the body tries to bypass the blockage by creating new blood vessels, but this can lead to more complications with PVT.

Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of PVT can lead to severe complications, including liver failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, or even death. Patients who have suffered harm due to medical negligence in diagnosing or treating PVT may pursue legal action to seek compensation for their injuries. These lawsuits generally fall under medical malpractice claims and are based on the healthcare provider’s failure to identify and treat the condition in a timely manner.

In PVT misdiagnosis cases, plaintiffs’ malpractice lawsuits typically focus on claims that healthcare providers failed to recognize critical symptoms or neglected to order appropriate diagnostic tests, such as Doppler ultrasound or CT imaging, that would have identified the clot.

Common symptoms of portal vein thrombosis include abdominal pain, swelling, and gastrointestinal bleeding. When these signs are misattributed to less severe conditions or ignored altogether, it often leads to delayed treatment, time the patient cannot afford to lose is solving the problem. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, plaintiffs must demonstrate that this negligence directly caused harm or prevented timely intervention that could have mitigated further complications.  Sometimes, the defense you see in these cases is not that the doctor was not negligent but the outcome would have been the same either way.

Additional Comments

• You often see portal vein thrombosis in people who have an inflammatory bowel disease like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s Disease. Any intraabdominal inflammatory process involving the bowel carries a known risk of portal vein thrombosis.
• Portal vein thrombosis has a critical error rate of 72%
• The majority of portal vein thrombosis arises in individuals who have cirrhosis of the liver.
• A blockage in the portal vein area will result in back pressure called venostasis. This prevents the blood coming back from the intestines from getting into the liver unimpeded. This venostasis will cause stagnation, which means the blood is backing up. Oxygenated blood cannot get into the intestine, and parts of the intestine will die.
• You need a good expert in these cases to clearly illustrate what a competent doctor would have done under similar circumstances. Because PVT is a rare condition, defense lawyers usually put up experts to say that the oversight was reasonable given the symptoms presented. So building a strong case necessitates a detailed review of medical records and collaboration with specialists who understand – and can articulate – the nuances of PVT diagnosis and treatment.
• No expert report was filed with the Complaint.

Jurisdiction

• Baltimore City

Defendants

• Johns Hopkins Hospital
• Two surgeons

Negligence

• Failed to diagnose the serious nature of her problems and take proper action to treat her.

Specific Counts Pled

1. Healthcare Malpractice
2. Healthcare Malpractice – Vicarious Liability
3. Negligence

Plaintiff’s Experts and Areas of Specialty

• Motion to extend

Examples of Lawsuits Against Hopkins

• Cole v. Johns Hopkins: brain cancer misdiagnosis
• Savoy v. Johns Hopkins: improper administration of dialysis
• Taub v. Johns Hopkins: phlebotomist malpractice nerve damage
• Branson v. Johns Hopkins: artery puncture during surgery

More Malpractice Claim Information

• Looking for co-counsel to help you fight your client’s medical malpractice claim? Learn about what Miller & Zois can deliver to you and your client to increase the settlement and trial value of your case. Our firm will split attorneys’ fees with co-counsel consistent with the Maryland Rules
• This is what a sample legal complaint against Hopkins looks like
• CALL 800-553-8082 or get a free online medical negligence serious injury and wrongful death claims. Miller & Zois handles medical mishap claims throughout the entire state of Maryland and the District of Columbia
• Venous thromboembolism malpractice

Getting a Lawyer for Your Malpractice Claim

If you have suffered as a result of the negligence of a doctor, nurse or hospital, Miller & Zois can help you. You are entitled to justice and monetary compensation for the needless harm that has been done to you. Miller & Zois has a very long history of results in medical malpractice and nursing home cases in Maryland, earning large verdicts and settlements, including at $10 million verdict in 2016 in a wrongful death case. Call today to speak with a caring medical negligence attorney who will help you at 800-553-8082 or get a free online case review.