MEDICAL MALPRACTICE. $______ RECOVERY - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE - HOSPITAL NEGLIGENCE - DEFENDANT STAFF NEGLIGENTLY ADMINISTERS INSULIN OR SULFONYLUREA TO NON-DIABETIC PATIENT CAUSING SEVERE HYPOGLYCEMIA RESULTING IN SEIZURES - PROFOUND BRAIN INJURY REQUIRING FEEDING TUBE AND TRACHEOSTOMY - IMPAIRMENT OF MOBILITY - COGNITIVE DISABILITIES - NEED FOR LIFE-LONG ASSISTANCE WITH ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIFE.

• Pages: 20-21

a aortic dissection in their differential diagnoses

and also failed to order a stat CT-scan. Had this

study been performed, the defense contended

that it would have led to a correct diagnosis,

aggressive medical management, and timely

surgical intervention to save the decedent’s life.

The defense maintained that the radiologist had

not ruled out aortic dissection and that it was up

to the admitting and treating physicians to follow

up with appropriate care and orders.

The jury assessed the defendant radiologist’s liability at

2%. They further assessed the Fabre defendant emer-

gency room physician’s liability at 80%, the Fabre first

attending physician at 10%, and the Fabre second

attending physician at 8%. The plaintiff was awarded

a total gross amount of $6,424,000 in damages in-

cluding $1,424,000 for loss of support and services

and $5,000,000 in pain and suffering.

REFERENCE

Estate of Kyriacos Sozomentou vs. Arfaras, et al. Case

no. 12-CA-015150; Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips, 12-06-

19.

Attorneys for defendant radiologist/group: Julia M.

Ingle and Gordon Lea of Lubell & Rosen, LLC in Fort

Lauderdale, FL.

$5,000,000 PRESENT VALUE RECOVERY - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE - OB/GYN -

HOSPITAL NEGLIGENCE - FAILURE OF DEFENDANT LABOR AND DELIVERY NURSES TO

INVOKE HOSPITAL’S CHAIN OF COMMAND WHEN OB/GYN FAILS TO RECOGNIZE

AND APPRECIATE SIGNS OF FETAL DISTRESS - FAILURE TO PERFORM C-SECTION -

SEVERE BRAIN DAMAGE TO NEWBORN.

Essex County, NJ

In this medical malpractice action, the plaintiffs

contended that the defendant ob/gyn negligently

failed to recognize or address an emergent

situation when obvious signs and symptoms of

fetal distress were occurring at approximately five

hours into labor. The plaintiffs asserted that as a

result, the fetus suffered from prolonged

tachysystole from uterine hyperstimulation, or

overly rapid contractions, which is known to have

a cumulative, negative effect on fetal oxygenation

status and can lead to depletion of fetal reserves

necessary to protect the fetus from harm during

the course of labor. The plaintiffs contended that

the defendant ob/gyn should have ordered an

immediate C-section if the mother’s contractions

could not be slowed, which was not done. The

plaintiffs maintained that when it became

apparent that the defendant ob/gyn did not

recognize or appreciate the signs of fetal distress

and the developing emergency, the co-defendant

labor and delivery nurses were obligated to

invoke the defendant hospital’s “Chain of

command directive,” thereby circumventing the

defendant attending ob/gyn’s authority, which the

plaintiff contended would have resulted in

another ob/gyn taking over which would most

likely have led to the performance of a timely C-

section and avoided severe injury to the infant.

The plaintiffs asserted that the failure to call for

an emergency C-section resulted in the infant

plaintiff sustaining an acute asphyxic event in the

minutes prior to her birth which has left her with

permanent and profound brain damage.

The case settled at mediation before the Honorable

Eugene Codey, P.J.Cv. (retired) for a present value of

$5,000,000, including $1,000,000 from the ob/gyn

and $4,000,000 from the hospital. A portion of the

settlement is being used to purchase an annuity

which will make the projected total value of the settle-

ment closer to $10,215,715.

REFERENCE

Vinci vs. Montemurro, et al. Docket no. ESX-L-3680-16;

Judge Robert Gardner, 09-19.

Attorney for plaintiff: Daryl L. Zaslow of Eichen

Crutchlow Zaslow, LLP in Edison, NJ.

$700,421 RECOVERY - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE - HOSPITAL NEGLIGENCE -

DEFENDANT STAFF NEGLIGENTLY ADMINISTERS INSULIN OR SULFONYLUREA TO

NON-DIABETIC PATIENT CAUSING SEVERE HYPOGLYCEMIA RESULTING IN SEIZURES -

PROFOUND BRAIN INJURY REQUIRING FEEDING TUBE AND TRACHEOSTOMY -

IMPAIRMENT OF MOBILITY - COGNITIVE DISABILITIES - NEED FOR LIFE-LONG

ASSISTANCE WITH ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIFE.

Harris County, TX

The plaintiffs in this medical malpractice action

were the wife and child of the incapacitated male

patient. The patient had been undergoing

treatment for alcohol withdrawal and was

transferred to the defendant hospital for further

rehabilitation. While at the defendant hospital,

the patient was given insulin instead of his

prescribed heparin, causing a severe episode of

hypoglycemia which resulted in seizures and

which caused brain damage according to the

Volume 35, Issue 10, May 2020

SUPPLEMENTAL VERDICT DIGEST 20

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