MEDICAL MALPRACTICE. Nursing Home. $______ RECOVERY

• Pages: 12-13

Volume 35, Issue 3, March 2020 Subscribe Now

cava. The surgeon removed the plural catheter that

the Emergency Department doctor had inserted

and noted that the Port-A-Cath could be used for

the patient’s chemotherapy. However, when this

was used, the plaintiff began to become sick so the

treatment was stopped and she was released

home to rest.

It was determined that the port was placed into her

artery and not into her vein as it should have been.

It was deemed that the port should be immediately

removed. During the removal, a CT-scan demon-

strated that the plaintiff had suffered a stroke. The

plaintiff brought suit against the defendants alleging

negligence. The plaintiff contended that it was neg-

ligence for the port to be inserted into the artery in-

stead of the vein and the negligent insertion was the

cause of the plaintiff’s subsequent stroke. The defen-

dants denied any wrongdoing. The defendants

maintained that there was no deviation from ac-

ceptable standards of care and disputed the

plaintiff’s claims of causation and damages.

The parties agreed to resolve the plaintiff’s claim for

the sum of $325,000 in a confidential settlement

among the parties prior to the trial in this matter.

REFERENCE

Patient Jane Doe vs. Defendant Hospital, et al.

Attorney for plaintiff: Damon Seglison of DiNicola

Seligson & Upton in Boston, MA.

DEFENDANT’S VERDICT

Medical malpractice – Hospital negligence –

Nursing negligence – Alleged negligent insertion

of PICC line – Hematoma – Permanent damage

to brachial nerve claimed.

Charlotte County, FL

This medical malpractice action was brought

against the defendant hospital for the alleged

negligence of one of its nurses in inserting a

peripherally inserted central catheter (“PICC”)

line. A PICC line is a long catheter inserted

through a peripheral vein (often the arm) into a

larger vein in the body, used when intravenous

treatment is required over a long period. The

plaintiff claimed that the defendant’s nursing

staff did not appropriately monitor and treat the

site of the plaintiff’s unsuccessful PICC line

attempt. The defendant maintained that there

was no evidence of an arterial injury during or

after the procedure at issue until after plaintiff

had returned home.

The plaintiff alleged that the defendant’s nurse

punctured the plaintiff’s artery during a failed at-

tempt to insert a PICC line. The plaintiff further al-

leged that the puncture resulted in the formation of

a pseudo-aneurysm in the brachial artery with a

hematoma, which led to resulting pressure and

damage to the brachial nerve. The plaintiff returned

to the hospital ten days after discharge due to gen-

eralized weakness, pain, and loss of use of his hand

for two to three days. He sought past and future loss

of wages, past medical expenses and pain and

suffering damages.

The defendant maintained that the plaintiff had

shown no signs of an arterial injury in the four days

that followed the failed PICC attempt through the

time of discharge. The defense elicited testimony

that the plaintiff had developed a hematoma after

his discharge home and that he had been seen by

two physicians in the week following his discharge,

with no complaints.

Once he began experiencing symptoms, the de-

fense argued that the plaintiff ignored the advice of

friends and relatives to return to the hospital until

several days later. The defense also contended

that, after surgery to evacuate the hematoma, the

plaintiff’s residual nerve damage was minimal.

After a four-day trial, and a deliberation of approxi-

mately three hours, the jury found no negligence on

the part of the defendant’s nurses which was a legal

cause of injury to the plaintiff.

REFERENCE

Andrews vs. Charlotte Regional Medical Center.

Case no. 18000985CA; Judge Lisa S. Porter, 11-22-

19.

Attorneys for defendant: Daniel A. Shapiro and

Mary Elizabeth Lanier of Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A.

in Tampa, FL.

Nursing Home

$137,500 RECOVERY

Medical malpractice – Nursing home negligence

– While a resident of defendant nursing facility,

plaintiff’s decedent suffers numerous falls and

pressure sores causing decline in health and

resulting death – Wrongful death of 82-year-old

female.

Bucks County, PA

In this medical malpractice case, the estate of

the decedent alleged that their decedent

suffered numerous falls, injuries and pressure

wounds that led to a decline in health and death

while the decedent was a resident of the skilled

nursing facility. The defendant nursing home

12

VERDICTS BY CATEGORY