Representative medical malpractice trial cases 2000-201

REPRESENTATIVE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE TRIAL CASES 2000-2011
1. Bottemiller v. Lindgren. Brain injury as a result of post-operative bleed; Clark County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorneys: Jeff Wihtol and Jack LaLonde; prayer $20 million. Result: Defense verdict on negligence claim and hung jury on informed consent claim. On Appeal: Defense verdict on negligence claim reversed based on improper admission of evidence. Case remanded for new trial on all claims. 2. Johnson v. Oh. Failure to diagnose reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and resulting total disability. King County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorney: Donald Buehler. Result: Defense verdict. 3. Wren v. Turner. Permanent wrist injury as a result of premature removal of pins following open reduction with internal fixation (ORIF); Cowlitz County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorney: Steven Pruzan. Result: Defense verdict. 4. Joshi v. Azhar. Wrongful death caused by failure to diagnose evolving stroke. Multnomah County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorney: John Uffelman. Result: Directed verdict for defendants. On Appeal: The Court of Appeals and then the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s grant of a directed verdict in favor of defendants. The Oregon Supreme Court reaffirmed the probability standard of causation in medical negligence cases. Since this ruling, Joshi has been cited for the proposition that there is no “loss of chance” doctrine under Oregon law. 5. Molla v. Tran. Myocardial infarction and permanent loss of heart muscle due to delay in diagnosis during hospital admission; Multnomah County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorney: Jeffrey Wihtol; Prayer: $2.8 million. Result: Defense verdict. 6. Hoover v. Reis and Herzig. Wrongful death as a result of delayed diagnosis of ovarian cancer; Clark County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorney: Anthony Russo; prayer: $4 million. Result: Defense verdict. 7. Schafer v. Adamson. Wrongful death as a result in delayed diagnosis of breast cancer; Multnomah County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorneys: Clayton Morrison, Jr. and Bruce Barton; prayer: $ 10 million. Result: Defense verdict. 8. Martinez v. Adamson. Permanent disability as a result of failure to diagnose ankle fracture; Washington County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorneys: Richard Pierce and James McCandlish. Result: During plaintiff’s case-in-chief, plaintiff dismissed client with prejudice. 9. Fuller v. Rahme. Wrongful death as a result of pulmonary embolism undiagnosed in clinical setting; Columbia County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorney: Linda Rudnick; prayer: $2 million. Result: Hung jury with subsequent settlement for confidential figure. 10. Hughes v. PeaceHealth. Wrongful death as a result of delayed diagnosis of meningococcemia; Lane County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorneys: William Gaylord and Linda Eyerman. Result: Plaintiff’s verdict for $1,100,000 ($1,000,000 in non-economic damages and $100,000 in economic damages). Verdict subsequently reduced by trial court to $600,000 based upon cap on non-economic damages of $500,000 in wrongful death cases. On Appeal: The Oregon Supreme Court settled the law and held that the cap on non-economic damages in wrongful death cases is constitutional under Oregon law. Hughes v. PeaceHealth, 344 Or. 142, 178 P.3d 225 (2008). 11. Bottemiller v. Lindgren (retrial of case 1, above). Brain injury as a result of post-operative bleed; Clark County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorney: Jeffrey Wihtol; prayer ˃$10 million. Result: Defense verdict. 12. Kurzer v. Oregon Medical Group. Wrongful death following immunotherapy injection; Lane County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorneys: Richard Rogers and Patrick Block; prayer $4.5 million. Result: Defense verdict. 13. Ferguson v. Nelson. Growth retardation and skin breakdown following overuse of Lotrisone cream on an infant; Lane County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorney: Marianne Dugan; prayer ˃$3.3 million. Result: Defense verdict. 14. [*]. Post-surgical brain injury as a result of faulty anesthesia circuits and excessive flow of oxygen; Jackson County, Oregon; prayer $2 million. Result: Defense verdict. 15. Stalkup v. Hampton. Wrongful death following chest pain in primary care setting; Clark County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorney: Steven Pruzan; prayer $2.5 million. Result: Defense verdict. On Appeal: The jury found defendant negligent but made no finding of causation, resulting in a defense verdict. Plaintiff moved for a new trial on the issue of causation. The court, sua sponte, granted a new trial on all issues. Defendant appealed, arguing that the jury’s verdict was supported by the evidence. The Court of Appeals affirmed and reinstated the jury’s defense verdict. 16. Caliman v. Lucke. Wrongful death as a result of meningococcal infection following emergency room visit; Cowlitz County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorneys: Matthew Dubin and Douglas Wilson; prayer ˃$3 million. Result: Defense verdict. 17. Hager v. Anderson. Brain damage and neuropsychological injury following post-operative bleed; Clark County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorney: Linda Eyerman; prayer: $1.5 million. Result: Defense verdict. 18. Christensen v. Cober. Complete median nerve transection during carpal tunnel surgery; Washington County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorney: Dean Heiling; prayer ˃$1.5 million. Result: Defense verdict. On Appeal: Plaintiff appealed the verdict contending that the court erred in refusing to submit “demonstrative” exhibits to the jury. The Court of Appeals agreed that the court erred and held that there is no distinction between “substantive” and “demonstrative” exhibits under Oregon law. If an exhibit is worthy of admission, it is received for all purposes and typically goes to the jury room. In this case, however, the Court of Appeals determined that there was no prejudice caused by the error and the court affirmed the defense verdict. 19. Jones v. Rosenquist. Delayed diagnosis of recurrence of testicular cancer; Multnomah County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorneys: Jeffrey Wihtol and Jan Baisch; prayer $4 million. Result: Settled during trial for confidential figure. 20. Schneider v. Lisk. Delay in diagnosis of colon cancer leading to terminal diagnosis; Multnomah County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorney: Robert Dames; prayer $15 million. Result: Hung jury at trial with subsequent settlement for confidential figure. 21. DeGuerre v. PeaceHealth. Wrongful death as a result of failure to diagnose abdominal aortic aneurysm; Lane County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorney: David K. Miller; prayer $500,000. Result: Defense verdict. 22. Van Allen v. Gosewehr. Wrongful death as a result of delayed diagnosis of sepsis secondary to pelvic and retroperitoneal abscess following hysterectomy; Clark County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorney: Greg Gonzales; prayer $5 million. Result: Defense verdict. 23. Lawlor v. Olson. Profound brain damage and cerebral palsy as a result of labor and delivery. Plaintiff claimed an earlier cesarean section delivery should have been performed based on fetal heart rate tracings; Whatcom County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorneys: Zev Gershon, M.D., J.D. and Robin Smith, RN, JD; prayer $24 million. Result: Defense verdict (case tried with lead counsel John Hart). 24. Diaz v. Kini. Laryngectomy following pathology report which incorrectly diagnosed laryngeal carcinoma; King County, Washington; plaintiffs’ attorneys: Keith Tichenor and Joseph Grube; prayer $4 million. Result: Hung jury. 25. [*] v. [*]. Permanent disability as the result of failure to diagnose staph aureus infection following knee surgery; Clark County, Washington; prayer: $470,000. Result: Defense verdict 26. Krassin v. Stoller. Wrongful death following prescription of Fentanyl patch after abdominal surgery; Snohomish County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorneys: Paul Whelan, Karen Moore and Kevin Coluccio; prayer: $1 million. Result: Defense verdict. 27. Ferguson v. PeaceHealth. Healthcare negligence in allowing unauthorized prescription; Lane County, Oregon; plaintiff’s attorney: Marianne Dugan; prayer: $1.1 million. Result Defense verdict. On Appeal: Plaintiff argued that the trial court erred in multiple ways, primarily in failing to give plaintiff’s proposed instructions regarding an employer’s liability for the intentional acts of an employee. The case is currently pending before the Oregon Court of Appeals. 28. Johnson v. Andison. Permanent disability following post-operative sepsis due to bleeding and colonic perforation; Clark County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorneys: William Savage and Robert Dames; prayer: $4 million. Result: Defense verdict. 29. Diaz v. Kini. (Retrial of case 24 above). Laryngectomy following pathology report which incorrectly diagnosed laryngeal carcinoma; King County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorneys: Keith Tichenor and Joseph Grube; prayer $4 million. Result: Unanimous defense verdict. On Appeal: In an important published Opinion, the Court of Appeals held that the amount of settlement from a co-defendant is relevant and admissible in medical negligence actions. 30. Westerling v. He. Osteonecrosis of the jaw following bisphosphonate therapy for breast cancer; Clark County, Washington; plaintiffs’ attorneys: William Nelson and Jane Clark; prayer: $1.5 million. Result: Defense verdict. 31. Taylor v. Bomke. Neurologic, developmental and motoric disabilities for child following labor and delivery. Plaintiff claimed an earlier cesarean section delivery should have been performed based on fetal heart rate tracings; King County, Washington; plaintiff’s attorneys: Mark Burke and Kristin Houser; prayer: $6 million. Result: Unanimous defense verdict (case tried with co-counsel Elizabeth Leedom).

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