Case Dismissed: Osceola County, Florida (Medical Malpractice)

Orlando partner Ryan Hestbeck recently prevailed in a wrongful death case pending in Osceola County, Florida, resulting in the entry of unopposed Summary Judgment in favor of our client.

Ryan represented an Emergency Department physician in this case, which arose when Plaintiff presented to the ED for agitation, altered mental status, and manic state. Plaintiff had a complex medical history including psychiatric issues. On the day of the subject treatment, our client ordered sedation medication in the ED to address the patient’s combative state such that further medical testing could be administered. After admission to the hospital, the patient experienced a cardiac event that ultimately resulted in his death. Plaintiff’s surviving spouse, as the executor of his estate, sued our client, alleging that the sedation medications were administered without proper regard to the existing medical issues, and that but for the administration of these medications, her husband would not have died.

Plaintiff’s retained Emergency Medicine expert agreed under oath that the administration of the medication at issue was appropriate under these circumstances, and further testified that he could not say there was a causal link between the administration of these medications in the ED and the subsequent cardiac event and death.

In light of this testimony, Plaintiff’s counsel agreed to forego a hearing on summary judgment, and instead stipulated to entry of Summary Judgment in our client’s favor.

Congratulations Ryan on this excellent work.