Yolanda Ratchford Secures Bell Law Firm After Undiagnosed and Untreated Spinal Hematomas from Thrombectomy Surgery Led to Significant Neurological Deficits
Lloyd Bell of Bell Law Firm today confirms the filing of a medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of Yolanda Ratchford in DeKalb County against Emory University, Emory Healthcare, Inc., The Emory Clinic, Inc., AMN Healthcare, Inc., and ten individual healthcare providers, following negligence that caused Yolanda to be wheelchair bound, among other serious injuries.
In March 2021, Yolanda underwent a thrombectomy surgery at Emory University Hospital, performed by vascular surgeon Olamide Alabi. During the procedure, Dr. Alabi encountered problems with the thrombectomy wire not entering the correct veins. The standard of care required Dr. Alabi to abort the procedure at that point. Continuing the thrombectomy exposed Yolanda to unnecessary risk – specifically increasing the likelihood of bleeding complications and puncturing of blood vessels.
Intraoperative DSA imaging for the thrombectomy uncovered the presence of a contrast agent outside of the blood vessels, indicating that a blood vessel had indeed been punctured and was leaking.
In the 30 hours immediately after the thrombectomy, Yolanda received alteplase and heparin and experienced deteriorating motor strength, significant back pain, and abnormal post-op lab results. Yolanda then underwent a laminectomy from orthopedic spine surgeon Dheera Ananthakrishnan. This was done to remove the spinal hematomas that had not been diagnosed or treated, likely since the thrombectomy.
By the time the hematomas were addressed, it was too late. Yolanda had already suffered irreversible nerve damage resulting in neurological deficits she will live with for the rest of her life. If any of the ten providers who treated Yolanda had identified and treated the hematomas promptly, she likely would not have suffered any of these deficits.
“The standard of care violations in this case are shocking,” states Lloyd Bell, lead counsel and founding partner at Bell Law Firm. “From post-op evaluation failures, communication breakdowns, and disregard for Yolanda’s reports of pain, these medical providers simply failed Yolanda. Had the providers at Emory timely diagnosed and treated Yolanda’s hematomas, she would have recovered with no neurological deficits. Instead, she will live with severe disability for the rest of her life.”
Lloyd and his team look forward to pursuing justice for Yolanda Ratchford and addressing the healthcare system failures that led to this malpractice. To review the complete filing, click here. For more information about Bell Law Firm’s mission to help victims of medical malpractice and wrongful death, visit www.belllawfirm.com/results.
About Bell Law Firm
Bell Law Firm is Georgia’s leading medical malpractice and catastrophic injury firm. Founded in 1999 by Lloyd Bell, the firm has recovered hundreds of millions for clients and families impacted by medical negligence, including a record $75M verdict, the largest in Georgia history. The firm also achieved a record-breaking $26M verdict against a Columbus hospital and a $15M verdict against the largest healthcare provider in Georgia. In addition to delivering record verdicts, Bell Law Firm was awarded “Personal Injury Litigation Team of the Year” and “Most Innovative Law Firm” by The Daily Report. Lloyd is also the only Georgia attorney in the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group of 100 leading trial attorneys in the United States. For more information, visit www.belllawfirm.com or listen to Lloyd’s podcast, “Face the Jury.”
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Contacts
Lauren Watt
Trevelino/Keller
lwatt@trevelinokeller.com
