Due to bumping his leg on the bedpost, our client’s husband developed a blood clot called a deep venous thrombosis (DVT). After being diagnosed and appropriately treated with a blood thinner during a short hospital stay, he was discharged under the care of his primary care physician. His primary care physician (PCP) correctly recommended the continued use of Coumadin, a medicine used for anticoagulation therapy. In less than two weeks, however, the client’s husband died as a result of a massive pulmonary embolism.

The PCP had only ordered one blood test in the first two weeks of prescribing Coumadin, in violation of appropriate medical standards. Due to insufficient monitoring, the client’s husband did not have enough medication in his system to prevent the formation of a fatal pulmonary embolism. We effectively established that our client’s husband died due to the physician’s failure to order simple blood testing.