$4M MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AWARDED IN DEATH OF DENTIST FROM A BLOOD CLOT LEADING TO PULMONARY EMBOLISM
A dentist’s family was awarded $4M in a medical malpractice settlement as a result of a deep vein thrombosis (clot formation) which led to a pulmonary embolism that killed him while he was a patient at Lutheran General Hospital in 2002. Urban had been injured in a car accident and sustained a break of the pelvis and a wrist fracture. The hospital identified him as being at risk for the development of clots (also known as deep-vein thrombosis) which can lead to a pulmonary embolism (a blockage to the heart and brain of blood flow). A pulmonary embolism is one of the most common forms of death in a hospital. The hospital administered medication to the dentist, Dr. Anton Urban, while he was there in order to minimize clots, but tests were not conducted to determine whether or not clots were actually forming. Clots formed in Urban’s lower legs, and ultimately broke free and lodged in his lungs, which caused his wrongful death. Urban is survived by his wife of 29 years and four adult children.
