Recent Verdicts

Patient v. Radiologist, Rutherford County, Tennessee; Spring 2009

In April 2009, Eric Miles and Phillip North obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a local radiologist in a medical malpractice case. The plaintiff claimed she was improperly diagnosed with advanced lung cancer when the radiologist included the results of another patient’s chest x-ray in a report on an imaging study obtained for the plaintiff. The radiologist admitted that his actions represented a deviation below the recognized standard of acceptable professional practice. Despite this admission of negligence, the case was taken to trial based on the defense that the radiologist’s deviation below the standard of care did not cause any injury to the plaintiff. After a three day trial, a Rutherford County jury returned a verdict in favor of the radiologist, finding that his negligence had not caused any injury to the plaintiff. The defendant then sought and was awarded his discretionary costs and a judgment against the plaintiffs for those costs was entered.

Patient v. Interventional Cardiologist. Madison County, Tennessee; Summer 2009. Phillip North and Edward A. Hadley

Plaintiff alleged that he was required to undergo coronary artery bypass grafting surgery as a result of dislodgement of a coronary artery stent from its delivery device on October 10, 2005. The Defendant cardiologist had placed a stent in the ostium of the left anterior descending coronary artery in January 2005. In October, he was attempting to advance a stent into the circumflex coronary artery at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital. After several attempts to advance the stent after angioplasty, the cardiologist placed a buddy wire and attempted to advance the stent over the buddy wire. He achieved slightly more advancement, but could not advance the stent to the intended location of deployment. Upon withdrawal of the stent, is stripped from the delivery device. The cardiologist decided against attempting retrieval of the stent, and embedded it into the wall of the artery, which is an accepted practice. Following the procedure, the patient sought treatment from other cardiologists in Memphis. Approximately 9 months later, the patient developed scar tissue at the site of the embedded stent. The Patient’s new physicians recommended bypass surgery which he chose.

Plaintiff alleged that the stent stripped from the delivery device because the Defendant cardiologist entangled the stent with the stent previously placed in January 2005. Plaintiff’s expert was Howard Kurz, M.D., Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. Dr. Kurz contended that the Defendant cardiologist should have used intravascular ultrasound to examine the stent that had been placed in January, should have first passed a balloon down the buddy wire before attempting to deploy the stent down the buddy wire, and should have attempted to retrieve the stent.

Defendants’ experts testified that intravascular ultrasound would not have provided any additional information regarding the location of the LAD stent, that the Defendant cardiologist had already ballooned a pathway before attempting to place the circumflex stent, and that stent retrieval presented unnecessary risks. They also testified that the patient had aggressive coronary artery disease and was likely to undergo bypass surgery anyway.

The jury found that the Defendant cardiologist had not deviated from the standard of care. A motion for new trial has been denied. Discretionary costs of $10,478.50 were awarded to Defendants.