$______ RECOVERY - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE - PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT NEGLIGENCE/PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN'S OFFICE NEGLIGENCE - DEFENDANT PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT DIAGNOSES PLAINTIFF'S DECEDENT WITH GERD AND ESOPHAGITIS WHEN DECEDENT PRESENTS WITH COMPLAINTS OF HEARTBURN AND SUFFERING CARDIAC DISTRESS DEMONSTRATED BY ABNORMAL DIAGNOSTIC CARDIAC TESTS - WRONGFUL DEATH OF 61-YEAR-OLD MALE.

• Pages: 4-4

$1,950,000 RECOVERY – MEDICAL MALPRACTICE – PHYSICIAN’S ASSISTANT

NEGLIGENCE/PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN’S OFFICE NEGLIGENCE – DEFENDANT

PHYSICIAN’S ASSISTANT DIAGNOSES PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT WITH GERD AND

ESOPHAGITIS WHEN DECEDENT PRESENTS WITH COMPLAINTS OF HEARTBURN AND

SUFFERING CARDIAC DISTRESS DEMONSTRATED BY ABNORMAL DIAGNOSTIC

CARDIAC TESTS – WRONGFUL DEATH OF 61-YEAR-OLD MALE.

Bucks County, PA

In this medical malpractice action, the estate of

the decedent maintained that the defendant

physician’s assistant and defendant cardiologist

failed to appreciate the decedent’s physical

symptoms of cardiac distress and failed to

communicate with the decedent regarding his

abnormal stress test. Instead, the decedent was

informed by the physician’s assistant that he had

GERDanddied2daysafterpresentingtothePA

with cardiac symptoms. All defendants denied all

allegations of negligence and injury.

In June of 2016, the plaintiff’s decedent underwent a

cardiac stress test, ordered by the defendant cardiol-

ogist, with abnormal myocardial perfusion consistent

with reversible ischemia. On July 18, 2016, the 60-

year-old male decedent presented to the defendant

primary care office with what the decedent de-

scribed as severe heartburn. The decedent’s history

was significant for obesity, hypertension

atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, myocardial

infarction in 2006 requiring multiple stents and the re-

cent abnormal stress test. Despite this history, the de-

fendant physician’s assistant, after a brief physical

exam, informed the decedent that he was suffering

from GERD with esophagitis a condition which he’d

never previously been diagnosed with. The decedent

died several days later from a massive heart attack.

The estate maintained that the defendant cardiolo-

gist was negligent in failing to appreciate the dece-

dent’s presenting symptoms in conjunction with his

history and recent abnormal stress test, failing to per-

form an EKG, diagnosing a high risk patient with GERD

without performing tests to rule out cardiac causes of

chest pain, failing to send the decedent to the hospi-

tal and providing care that fell below standards. The

estate also maintained that the defendant cardiolo-

gist failed to report the results of the stress test to the

decedent. He died on July 20, 2016. He is survived

by his wife and 3 adult children.

The parties settled for $1,950,000.

REFERENCE

The Estate of Steven Schmidt by Kathleen Schmidt vs.

Alexander Shvartsman, CRNP, Penn Care Medical As-

sociates of Bucks County, Penn Medicine University of

Pennsylvania Health System and Trustees Of The Uni-

versity Of Pennsylvania, Ronald Fields, M.D. and Com-

prehensive Cardiology. Case no. 2016-07506; Judge

Jeffrey Trauger, 11-06-22.

Attorney for plaintiff: Daniel McGrath of Ross Feller

Casey in Philadelphia, PA. Attorney for defendant:

Daniel J. Sherry of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner,

Coleman & Goggin in King of Prussia, PA. Attorney

fordefendant:DonaldJ.Brooks,Jr.ofEckert

Seamans in Philadelphia, PA.

COMMENTARY

The estate presented expert medical testimony stating that the fail-

ure to inform the decedent of the abnormal results of the nuclear

perfusion test contributed to the decedent’s belief that his chest

pain was not cardiac in nature. The experts concluded that had the

decedent been aware that he was suffering unstable angina, he

would have sought addition evaluation when his symptoms per-

sisted after visiting his primary care giver’s office. In addition, the

experts maintained that the primary care office should have per-

formed an in office EKG and sent the decedent for a cardiac work

up including catheterization based on his presentation in the doc-

tor’s office as being in moderate distress. The defendants’ failure to

address the decedent’s unstable angina by failing to perform a car-

diac work up or refer the decedent to a cardiologist increased the

risk of harm to the decedent and caused his premature death.

$6,000,000 VERDICT – LANDLORD NEGLIGENCE – HAZARDOUS CONDITION –

PLAINTIFFS FALL TO GROUND AFTER EXTERIOR STAIRWAY AT THEIR RENTAL HOME

GIVES WAY BENEATH THEM CAUSING SERIOUS INJURIES – BACK INJURY WITH FOOT

DROP TO MALE PLAINTIFF – FRACTURES, SURGERY, INFECTION AND POST-

TRAUMATIC ARTHRITIS TO FEMALE PLAINTIFF – DAMAGES ONLY.

Charleston County, SC

The plaintiffs in this negligence action were

lawfully walking up the exterior steps of a home

they rented from the defendant real estate

company. The steps gave way beneath the

plaintiffs causing extensive injury to both

plaintiffs. The plaintiffs originally sued the

property owner and various companies involved

in the construction of the steps and deck, however

the only defendant to remain at trial was the real

estate company that owned the property. The

defendant real estate company accepted liability

before trial.

4 SUMMARIES WITH TRIAL ANALYSIS

Volume 38, Issue 3, March 2023 Subscribe Now