Broken Leg Allegedly Leads to Malpractice Death

Ben Glass

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A medical malpractice complaint has been filed against Maryland's Union Memorial Hospital and two doctors there by the family of a woman who was treated at the hospital after a 2006 head-on crash who eventually died.

According to the claim, which was delivered to a Maryland arbitration board, the Nicole Smith's death was the result of a blood clot traveling from her broken leg to her lungs due to improper treatment.

Lew Schon and Yuhman Hong were named as defendants in the complaint along with the hospital. The 22-year-old accident victim was treated by Schon after she was admitted to the hospital on July 8, 2006. During a follow-up appointment, she was examined by Hong on July 20, 2006 and then discharged, according to the complaint.
Three days after Hong discharged her, Smith suffered a heart attack in her home. She died before the paramedics were able to resuscitate her.
The family's attorney, Christian Lodowski, said that the doctors should have been alerted to the possibility of clots because of Smith's condition after the accident. He said that her right leg was badly broken, she was forced to remain immobile in a bed, was taking birth control pills, and was obese. Yet, he said, the doctors ignored the signs of deep-vein thrombosis.