Pedestrian struck on college campus by drunk driver.
Boston, Mass. – The plaintiff pedestrian, now a 23-year-old female, was a Boston-area college student when she was injured on the border of the campus on Dec. 6, 2009.
The plaintiff was struck by a motor vehicle operated by the defendant, who was under the influence of alcohol. Because of the seriousness of her injuries, the plaintiff has no recollection of the accident.
The defendant fled the scene and was apprehended by campus police in a nearby campus parking lot. He pleaded guilty to operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of an accident and reckless operation.
The plaintiff suffered multiple traumas, the most serious of which was a permanent, foot-long scar down the center of her face from her forehead to her chin. She also sustained multiple facial fractures and a cerebellar hemorrhage with mild brain-stem compression.
She underwent multiple surgeries to reduce the major scarring and to treat her facial fractures and had an excellent recovery from her head injury. She was able to graduate with her class and expects to attend graduate school.
Her medical bills totaled approximately $77,000.
The defendant lived on and off with his parents. There was an underlying motor vehicle liability policy of $250,000 on the accident vehicle and a $5 million homeowner’s umbrella policy. The case settled through mediation after the umbrella carrier offered to pay $3.25 million.
Action: Motor vehicle negligence
Injuries alleged: Multiple facial fractures and scarring, cerebellar hemorrhage
Case name: Withheld
Jury and/or judge: N/A (settled)
Amount: $3.5 million
Attorney: Neil Sugarman, Sugarman & Sugarman, Boston (for the plaintiff)
Man dies after delay in detecting bleeding.
Richmond, Va. – On Feb. 24, 2009, decedent underwent rotator cuff repair surgery. In the early hours of Feb. 25, decedent complained of severe abdominal pain and he was noted to be hypotensive. Decedent’s nurse notified the hospitalist who ordered Protonix and Maalox.
After several hours, decedent’s severe abdominal pain persisted, and the nurse was unable to obtain a blood pressure reading, so she called a rapid response team to the bedside. Decedent was transferred to the intensive care unit at approximately 7:45 a.m., and defendant critical care physician was asked to consult.
Defendant’s differential diag-
nosis included ischemic colitis, cholecystitis, septic shock, hypovolemia, reaction to pain medicine or reaction to blood pressure medicine. Defendant ordered a stat CT scan to investigate his differential diagnosis and ordered various other tests. Unfortunately, despite aggressive efforts to stabilize the decedent, he never became stable enough to be transferred out of the ICU for the CT scan.
At approximately 10 a.m., defendant reviewed the decedent’s lab work and noted that the decedent’s hematocrit had dropped nearly 24 points since pre-operative lab work obtained eight days prior.
Although this considerable
drop in hematocrit could have signified acute abdominal bleeding, defendant did not suspect
acute abdominal bleeding be-cause the decedent did not have the typical clinical signs of abdominal distention or abdominal rigidity.
Instead, the defendant suspected a slow gastrointestinal bleed. His plan was to re-order the lab work, continue efforts to stabilize the decedent for the CT scan and continue to monitor the decedent for any new clinical signs. A consulting nephrologist concurred with the defendant’s findings and plan at 10 a.m.
About two hours later, the decedent had abdominal distention and rigidity for the first time that morning. Based upon this change in clinical condition, together with the lab results, the defendant suspected acute abdominal bleeding. He immediately ordered blood transfusions and paged the surgeon. The decedent was taken to surgery at 2:15 p.m. After approximately three hours in surgery, the surgeon could not find the source of the abdominal bleeding. The decedent was taken back to the ICU and he passed away shortly thereafter.
Plaintiff filed her lawsuit in the Alexandria Circuit Court, alleging the defendant breached the standard of care because he should have diagnosed acute abdominal bleeding sooner. Plaintiff claimed the delay in diagnosis caused the decedent’s death. The defendant critical care physician denied the allegations and the case proceeded to trial on March 21, 2011.
Plaintiff’s experts testified that the defendant failed to diagnose acute abdominal bleeding at 10 a.m. when he became aware of the drop in hematocrit. The experts testified that if the defendant had diagnosed acute abdominal bleeding then, the decedent’s abdominal bleeding could have been surgically corrected and he would have survived neurologically intact.
The defendant’s experts testified that the decedent’s symptoms of abdominal pain and hypotension were nonspecific findings which could have been caused by dozens of medical conditions. Although the drop in hematocrit could signify acute abdominal bleeding, the defendant’s experts testified that the decedent’s clinical picture at 10 a.m. was inconsistent with acute abdominal bleeding because the decedent did not have abdominal distention or rigidity.
The defendant’s experts testified that the defendant timely diagnosed acute abdominal bleeding at noon when the decedent’s clinical picture became consistent with bleeding. The defendant’s experts further testified that even if the defendant had diagnosed acute abdominal bleeding at 10 a.m., there was not enough time to correct the bleeding to save the decedent’s life.
After a four-day trial and deliberation by the jury for 90 minutes, the jury returned a verdict for the defendants.
Type of action: Medical malpractice
Injuries alleged: Wrongful death
Name of case: Confidential
Court: Alexandria Circuit Court
Tried before: Jury
Judge: Donald Haddock
Demand: $5,000,000
Verdict or settlement: Defense verdict
Attorneys for defendant: Richard L. Nagle and Tracie M. Dorfman, Fairfax
Insurance carrier: Profes-sionals Advocate