Failure to Monitor Patient’s Use of Antifungal Allegedly Leads to Liver Failure, Death, $4.7M Verdict

​A jury in Georgia returned a $4.7 million verdict in a malpractice case alleging that a patient died because a primary care physician and nurse practitioner failed to monitor her use of a prescribed antifungal drug, according to a report in the May 2017 Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts (subscription required). The 78-year-old patient visited the defendant primary care physician because her right big toenail had turned yellow. The physician prescribed a daily topical antifungal treatment for 30 days, and three refills. When the patient returned the next month, she was seen by the defendant nurse practitioner with complaints of swelling in her wrist and thumb. Three months passed and the patient returned complaining of a cough, runny nose, and ear pain and said that she had had dark urine for three days. She also told the defendant that she had lost her appetite over the past six or seven months.