Firm Results

David Young and Jon Lynn obtained a defense verdict for two emergency room physicians, a physician assistant, and their employer in Manatee County in a medical malpractice, wrongful death case. The Plaintiff alleged the two doctors, one board certified in family practice and not emergency medicine and the other in emergency medicine, as well as the physician assistant were negligent in their care of the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff collapsed on the worksite and was assessed by EMS as unresponsive but not having a stroke. When he arrived at the hospital, the patient was responsive only to painful stimuli and over the next few hours began to improve neurologically. No focal deficits were noted by the numerous providers who assessed him over the 3 hours and then a nursing assessment noted facial droop and left-sided weakness.

The Plaintiff alleged a delay in diagnosing the patient’s acute ischemic stroke and that such delay prevented a life-saving decompressive hemicraniectomy. Plaintiff contended that it was simply impossible that such an extensive stroke be visible on CT scan and the patient not have focal deficits. Plaintiff contended that this surgery if performed within 2 days of the presentation would have saved his life, while the actual subsequent care included admission, assessment by neurology, consultation to neurosurgery, and a decision by neurosurgery within a day of admission that the risks of surgery outweighed the benefits given the size of the infarct (almost the entire right hemisphere of the brain on MRI). The Plaintiff ultimately had a brain herniation and died the day after neurosurgery was consulted.

The defense countered that the physician did in fact make the diagnosis timely once the focal deficits were present and that the presentation of the patient with global deficits (unresponsive and obtunded) prevented earlier diagnosis and that almost a dozen trained observers did not miss obvious focal deficits. The defense further argued that looking at the care prospectively (rather than retrospectively with knowledge of the stroke on the CT scan that was misread), the providers were appropriate in their diagnosis and plan. The defense also argued that no treatment, including a decompressive hemicraniectomy, would have prevented the death. The survivors included the surviving spouse and 6 children. Plaintiff asked the jury to award 10 million dollars in damages. After 2 hours of deliberation, returned a verdict finding all three health care providers not negligent and a full defense verdict in their favor.

Tia Jones was successful in securing a summary judgment in a premise liability case in the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida in which the firm represented the Defendant, a hotel. Plaintiff alleged that the hotel was negligent for failing to maintain a rock bed located in the landscaping in a reasonable condition and failing to warn of this rock bed. The motion filed argued that Defendant had no duty to maintain this area as it was not meant for pedestrian use and there was no duty to warn the plaintiff because she admitted to seeing the rock bed prior to stepping into it. The Court agreed, finding that no reasonable person would have believed that the rock bed was meant for pedestrians and while plaintiff knowingly stepped into the rock bed, she did so at her own risk.

Jon Lynn recently got a defense verdict after a trial in Miami. The plaintiff claimed that a circulating nurse in a plastic surgery procedure failed to advise the surgeon that the anesthesiologists had some difficulty intubating the patient for an abdominoplasty procedure that resulted in an aggravation of the patient’s injury which led to an extended and complicated hospital admission and left her with permanent injuries as a result of a perforation of her windpipe secondary to her intubation. The plaintiff claimed that if the nurse had notified the surgeon, who was not yet in the operating room when the patient was intubated, of the problem that the anesthesiologists had intubating the patient, her diagnosis would have been made sooner and the injury would not have been as severe. Prior to trial, the plaintiff reached a settlement with the two anesthesiologists who had intubated the patient for her surgery but insisted that the nurse had some responsibility for the delayed diagnosis of her injury that resulted from the intubation error. The jury deliberated for only 35 minutes before returning a defense verdict.

Lou La Cava and Janet Durkee obtained a dismissal of their ENT client without any settlement payment in a case alleging the physician was negligent in the care and treatment of a patient’s ear infection. The Plaintiff alleged the failure to appropriately treat the infection with the correct medications resulted in a perforated ear drum and requirement of a reconstructive ear surgery. The Plaintiff alleged damages of hearing loss and ongoing tinnitus. (ringing in the ears) The case was ordered by the court to non-binding arbitration on two separate occasions. Two different arbitrators returned an arbitration result in favor of the Defendant finding no negligence on the part of the physician. After the second arbitration finding no negligence the Plaintiff agreed to dismiss the case against the physician with prejudice.

Tom Saieva and Lesley Stine were successful in obtaining a Final Summary judgment in Pinellas County based on plaintiffs’ failure to comply with pre-suit requirements of Chapter 766, Florida Statutes, in a stroke case against a hospital. Plaintiffs’ pre-suit affidavit against the hospital for the alleged actions of a claimed registered nurse was supported by a neurologist from California with extensive stroke center credentials. This was challenged during presuit and thereafter during the lawsuit on the grounds that, pursuant to Section 766.102(6), claims against nurses, nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, physician assistants, or other medical support staff, could only be supported by similar health care providers, or physicians, licensed under Chapter 458 or 459 (Florida physicians), who had knowledge of the standard of care of those nurses, thus the out of state neurologist’s affidavit was insufficient.

The case was appealed twice. The initial motion for a determination of failure to comply with presuit was denied and appealed. The opinion in PP Transition, LP v Munson, 232 So. 3d 515 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017) was significant because it held that the trial court denied procedural safeguards when it summarily denied the hospital’s motion without express findings as to compliance.

Ultimately, the trial court granted a Final Summary Judgment on the basis of §766.102(6). This case involved the statute relating to expert witness certificates under §458.3175. Plaintiffs claimed that the expert certificate allowed the out of state witness to provide an affidavit against nurses, however the defense pointed out that the expert witness certificate only allowed an out of state physician to testify on the standard of care of a physician licensed under Chapter 458 or 459, rather than a nurse or other allied health professional.

The Final Summary Judgment was appealed to the Second District Court, which affirmed Per Curium in Munson v PP Transition, LP, 2021 WL 6055701.