This was a medical malpractice case arising from an alleged perforation of the small intestine during laparoscopic surgery performed by a co-defendant gynecological surgeon. The Plaintiff claimed that the nurses of our client hospital negligently failed to recognize signs and symptoms of a bowel perforation when the patient presented to the hospital on the three consecutive days following the surgery. The Plaintiff claimed that she developed sepsis and other complications, requiring a bowel resection and many subsequent surgeries due to failure of an anastomosis after the bowel resection procedure. Plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury for $39 million at trial, but the jury found no negligence and returned a complete defense verdict.

The Plaintiff, the Estate of [the Decedent], claimed on behalf of his surviving spouse that the 57-year-old decedent died from a pulmonary embolism two days after an arthroscopic meniscectomy surgery performed by our client, an orthopedic surgeon, in December 2014. The Plaintiff claimed that our client failed to recognize that the patient was at high risk for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism after the procedure and should have received medication for prophylactic anticoagulation following the surgery. The Plaintiff relied upon the opinions of an orthopedic surgery expert for both standard of care and causation claims. The Defendants presented the testimony of an orthopedic surgery expert and hematology expert, both of whom rejected the notion that the patient was at high risk for DVT. The defense’s orthopedic surgery expert testified that it was not the standard of care to provide prophylactic anticoagulation medication. The Defendants’ hematology expert testified that the medication, if given, would not have prevented the Plaintiff’s death. The jury returned a defense verdict after seven days in trial.

This case arose from an incident that occurred at a well-known regional grocery chain. Plaintiff claimed that she was injured when she was contacted by a stocking cart. The store admitted liability but defended the case on causation and damages. Plaintiff claimed she required medical care, including a 3-level cervical discectomy and fusion, with associated expenses of approximately $262,000 and alleged future care needs of $192,000. The jury returned a defense verdict in two hours.

Congratulations to Orlando Partner, Patrick Mixson, and Associate, Jacqueline Bourdon, on obtaining summary judgment for Publix Super Markets in a premises liability case in Volusia County, Florida. The Plaintiff claimed that she slipped and fell in the produce department of a Publix store. She alleged that she sustained injuries to her knee, requiring arthroscopic surgery, and lower back, attributing approximately $200,000 of medical bills to the incident. Though the Plaintiff testified in her deposition that she believed she slipped on brown, slimy lettuce, the Court found that her testimony was inconsistent with the store camera video and that there was no evidence that the Plaintiff actually slipped on a transitory foreign substance. The Court granted summary judgment in Publix’s favor. As a result, Publix will be entitled to recovery of attorney’s fees and costs, in light of a previous Proposal for Settlement.