For this week's discussion I looked at the case of Justice Michael H. Melkonian whose family filed a lawsuit against Albany Medical Center after suffering a fatal heart attack while in their care. Justice Melkonian's care was neglected, and his care team failed to address the symptoms of his condition.

On October 17th, 2019, Justice Melkonian contacted his cardiologist concerned that he was experiencing sudden and severe chest pain. His cardiologist advised him to seek treatment at Albany Medical Center's Emergency Department. After arriving he presented with chest pain radiating to his back and hand, and cold clammy sweat. He was placed in a private ED room but was then left without care for 23 minutes. Upon their return he was found unresponsive and had no signs of life. The autopsy found that his death was due to an irregular heart rhythm as a result of a coronary artery blockage. During the case, it was established that the standard of care was not met when Justice Melkonian was not put on a heart monitor or given medication to improve blood flow in order to increase the time needed for further treatment.

I agree with the position taken on the neglect of the standard of care. Knowing that he was presenting with symptoms of a heart condition one would think that he would immediately be put on a monitor and have a nurse dedicated to watching his condition. To have no one check on the patient for 23 minutes is unsettling in any situation, at the very least he should have been checked in on every few minutes. If he was attached to a monitor, there likely would have been an alarm to notify the nurses that something was wrong, and it would have activated immediate action.

In 2022 a jury found Albany Medical Center liable for his death and awarded his family $7.6 Million.