The medical malpractice lawsuit was filed by the family of Gustavo Espinel-Santos, who alleged that Dr. Peri Aldrich and the Berlin Family Medical Center failed to run basic diagnostic tests that would have led to a proper diagnosed and saved his life.

After two visits to the Berlin Family Medical Center in December 2003, where physician assistants told him he had pneumonia, Espinel-Santos was admitted to St. Vincent Hospital on December 23, 2003, where he was diagnosed as having a fungal infection known as blastomycosis. However the infection diagnosis came too late for Espinel-Santos to receive proper treatment and he died.

Following a four-day trial, the jury awarded $3.7 million to Espinel-Santos’s wife, Marie Zavala McDaniel, and his two young children. According to the Green Bay Press Gazette, the award will be reduced in accordance with a state law that places a $350,000 cap on non-economic damages in Wisconsin malpractice lawsuits.

Prompt infection diagnosis and treatment is important, as infectious bacteria can create toxins that damage nearby cells. Untreated, bacterial infections can spread throughout the body through the bloodstream, a condition called bactermia.

Blastomycosis is caused by fungal bacteria known as Blastomyces dermatidis, and is often transmitted through water and soil. Mortality rates for the infection are about 42% for untreated cases, but death is extremely rare in cases where a correct diagnosis and proper treatment occur.

Judge Dennis Moroney rejected the case, which sought class action status on behalf of all Wisconisin Extendicare nursing home residents between 2005 and 2008, as being too vague and barred the plaintiff from resubmitting their claim later; saying that amending the complaint would not help make it any more viable, according to a press release issued by Extendicare.

Extendicare is one of the largest nursing home operators in the United States and Canada, operating 264 senior care centers in North America, with a total of just under 30,000 residents.

The nursing home lawsuit alleged that Extendicare fraudulently advertised services that they were not capable of performing and admitted ill residents without hiring the necessary staff to provide adequate care.

The Wisconsin case, as well as other Extendicare class action suits filed in Washington and Minnesota, highlighted the company’s “24/7 Extendicare Admission Policy,” which green flagged individuals with serious medical conditions for immediate admission without proper assessment of the facilities ability to meet the patient’s needs or the needs of other residents who were already living in the nursing home. The plaintiffs claimed that this placed elderly and ill individuals at risk for serious injury caused by nursing home neglect.

A July 2008 investigation by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel found that 20 out of the 26 Extendicare nursing homes in Wisconsin had been cited for at least one serious violation in care over the past three years, and the nursing home operator has paid over $2.3 million to settle violations that led to the 2003 death of one Wisconsin resident. Extendicare homes in Washington and Minnesota had also been cited for serious violations.

The unanimous decision was announced on Tuesday, reasoning that since lead was a primary ingredient in in the paint, the design can not be called defective. The opinion stated that if the lead were removed from the paint it would cease to be the same product, holding that the paint manufacturer could not be held liable for injuries caused by the design.

The case, Godoy v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., was brought on behalf of a 12-year-old boy who suffered lead poisoning and developmental difficulties allegedly due to the consumption of paint chips in a Milwaukee apartment when he was younger. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Sherwin-Williams Co., Armstrong Containers Inc. and American Cyanamid Co. were named as defendants. Tuesday’s ruling affirmed decisions by two lower courts.

“By definition, white lead carbonate pigment contains lead. Removing lead from white lead carbonate pigment would transform it into a different product,” Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote in the opinion. “Under these circumstances, we conclude that the design of white lead carbonate pigment is not defective.”

Lead paint was banned in 1978 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, due to the risk that it can cause severe and permanent brain damage and developmental problems, particularly in children. Lead paint poisoning can result in nervous system injury, brain damage, seizures or convulsions, growth or mental retardation, coma and even death.

Although the toxic paint has not been used in more than 30 years, even today, many older and poorly maintained properties contain lead paint on the walls. If the paint peals or flakes off, children can suffer high levels of lead in their blood if they ingest lead paint chips or inhale the dust.

Lead poisoning lawsuits filed against the manufacturers of the paint have generally not been very successful, as it is nearly impossible to establish who manufactured paint that has been on the wall of a home for decades.

In a rare case decided last month, a Mississippi jury awarded $7 million against Sherwin-Williams in a lead paint lawsuit filed by the family of a boy who suffered from developmental problems caused by the paint. The family was able to establish that Sherwin-Williams made the paint applied to the walls of the boy’s grandmother’s home during the 1970s. The family alleged that they had followed instructions provided by the paint manufacturer to remove the toxic paint and the child still suffered injuries from ingesting paint chips and inhaling lead paint dust.

Most successful lead paint lawsuits involve claims brought against landlords for failing to maintain older rental properties where families with young children reside. Allowing peeling or flaking lead paint to remain on the walls could expose property owners to liability for lead poisoning experienced by children years later.

The legislation has been narrowly written to specifically apply to Crown Cork and Seal Co., which has paid out more than $500 million after purchasing and merging with Mundet Cork Co. in 1963, which made asbestos.

The provision, which has been inserted into the state budget, exempts companies from liability in asbestos lawsuits for the actions of smaller entities they acquired before 1972. Supporters say that it is designed to protect jobs in the state, but it could also affect those with claims against companies other than Crown.

According to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal, Debra Johnson is speaking out against the bill because it could bar her husband’s mesothelioma lawsuit over exposure to asbestos in the boiler room of a hospital that is now defunct. Methodist Hospital, where Johnson’s husband worked, was later absorbed by Meriter Hospital, which could be insulated from liability by the legislation.

Similar measures have been passed in 10 other states to protect Crown Cork and Seal, Co., and officials for the company indicate that no other entity has used the provision to avoid liability.

Mesothelioma is rare form of cancer caused asbestos exposure, which is almost always fatal. It can occur from direct exposure to the toxic fibers or indirectly through family members who worked with the material.

The cancer attacks the lining of the chest and lung, and causes symptoms like shortness of breath, chest wall pain and weight loss. It is often not detected until decades after the exposure, when it is already in an advanced stage.

Mesothelioma litigation is the longest-running mass tort in the history of the United States. There have been more than 600,000 plaintiffs who have filed cases since the first asbestos lawsuit was filed in 1929, and estimates suggest that payouts to individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related injuries may one day reach a combined total of more than $200 billion.

The case was filed on behalf of Shelbey Bomkamp against Dr. Leonard Go, who performed the surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.

According to the medical malpractice lawsuit, Dr. Go used a “Morcellator” during the procedure, which is a blender-like device used to chop up the spleen during the removal process. However, Dr. Go admitted during depositions that he had never used the device before.

The family alleged that the surgeon negligently punctured the bag in which the spleen had been encased during the procedure. This resulted in severe internal injuries and permanent brain damage for the young girl.

The surgical mistake left Shelbey Bomkamp unable to speak, requiring a feeding tube and confined to a wheelchair. She requires 24 hour care and is only able to communicate by blinking her eyes.

On April 15, 2009, Judge Maryann Sumi of the Dane County Circuit Court, approved a settlement in which the child will receive $17.3 million, which is believed to be the larges known Wisconsin medical malpractice payment in the county.

Under the malpractice laws in Wisconsin, Dr. Go’s insurance carrier will be responsible for only the first $1 million of the settlement, and a state compensation fund will pay the remainder.

In 1975, the state created the Wisconsin Patients’ Compensation Fund to provide Wisconsin-based healthcare provides with extra medical malpractice coverage. Healthcare providers are only required to obtain primary insurance for $1 million per occurrence and $3 million aggregate for the year. Any claims that exceed that amount are covered by the medical malpractice compensation fund.

The Fund is operated by a 13 member Board of Governors and all health care providers are required to participate unless a statutory exemption applies.

According to a report published in March 2009, only three payments from the Wisconsin Patients’ Compensation Fund have exceed $10 million during the past five years. Over that period, the Fund has paid an average of $32 million annually, for nine claims per year.

The death occurred on July 14, 2007, when the teen’s safety harness was not properly secured before riding a giant swing ride at a Christian music festival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Subsequent investigations also found that a safety rope was not properly attached to the harness.

The swing ride lawsuit was filed against Life Promotions, who organized the Lifest2007 event where the tragedy occurred, and Air Glory, Inc., which was the company responsible for operating the ride.

After this tragedy, Air Glory was banned from operating rides in Wisconsin for one year as a result of their negligent operation and maintenance of the swing chair ride involved in this accident.

Although the exact terms of the settlement were not disclosed, the Green Bay Press Gazette reports that the wrongful death settlement was for the full amount of the insurance coverage for Air Glory, which was $1 million.