In what is believed to be one of the largest medical malpractice wrongful death verdicts in recent years in Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia jury awarded $6.4 million to the five minor children of a man who died following a massive heart attack suffered three months after being discharged from the emergency room at Temple University Hospital. Plaintiff decedent Derek Harlem had experienced chest pain while playing basketball on May 31, 2009. He was taken to Temple’s emergency room shortly after, only to be mistakenly diagnosed with pneumonia. While nurses there documented Harlem’s chest pain radiating down his right harm, no one recorded a cardiac monitor, administered nitroglycerin, or rechecked his vital signs. An EKG showed signs of myocardial infarction, and defendant Dr. Marsha Edwards noted that Harlem was experiencing left sided chest pain with right shoulder pain and was exhibiting signs of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, co-defendant Robert M. McNamara failed to order cardiac enzymes or admit Harlem for a cardiac work up as required by Temple’s guidelines, which was one of the key facts leading to a verdict in this Philadelphia medical malpractice lawsuit.
