$2,100,000.00 Recovery: Failure To Diagnose Kidney Damage

This New York medical negligence lawsuit was filed by a Binghamton-area husband wife against an internist and his medical practice. The complaint centered around internist malpractice. More specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that the internist failed to make the appropriate referral to a nephrologist to evaluate kidney function after a 41 year old patient's bloodwork revealed proteinuria. In turn, the internist failed to diagnose IgA nephropathy before it caused permanent kidney damage.

While proteinuria can be a benign finding, it can also be a sign of kidney dysfunction if the kidney's filters, called glomeruli, are damaged. Here, when the patient first exhibited proteinuria, his glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was normal. This meant that his kidneys were leaking, but working properly. However, five years later the patient's GFR was grossly abnormal - meaning that his kidneys were not functioning. While the patient saw the internist many times over those 5 years, the physician never identified the cause for chronic proteinuria. Eventually, the patient presented to an emergency room and was diagnosed with end stage kidney disease from IgA nephropathy. He was placed on the transplant list. In the absence of a transplant, the patient's advanced condition is terminal.

After Bottar Law, PLLC, retained 6 experts for trial in the fields of internal medicine, urology, nephrology, transplant surgery, life care planning and economics, the case resolved for $2,100,000.00.