News
Starnes & Atchison gets defense verdict in complex medical malpractice case
On June 19th, Mike Florie and Will Axon secured a defense verdict in a medical malpractice trial in Jefferson County Circuit Court. The case, which tried before a jury for a week and a half, arose from the tragic death of a mother and twin in utero. The plaintiff alleged the treating OB-GYN negligently failed to diagnose in a timely fashion the rare condition of Acute Fatty Liver of Pregnancy, which began in the third trimester of a pregnancy already complicated by anemia, syncopal episodes, and gestational diabetes. The case reached a jury after the plaintiff proffered expert testimony that the defendant physician ignored persistent symptoms of malaise, fatigue, weight loss, and elevated creatinine levels which should have led to the correct diagnosis. The plaintiff's expert then testified that an earlier diagnosis and treatment would have cured the mother and both unborn children. In an emotional closing argument, plaintiff's counsel asked the jury to return a wrongful death verdict for no less than six million dollars.
Through the defendant physician and multiple expert witnesses, the defense was able to prove the mother's symptoms of fatigue and malaise had been prevalent throughout the pregnancy and were in no way indicative of a liver disorder. Likewise, these witnesses established the weight loss and elevated creatinine were properly attributable to the mother's diabetic diet and mild dehydration, for which she received treatment and improved. The defense was also able to disprove the family's claims of intractable nausea, vomiting and stomach pain which were undocumented in the hospital and clinic records. Finally, the defense successfully discredited the plaintiff's star expert witness by establishing his extensive and lucrative history as a plaintiff's expert, and his factually inaccurate testimony regarding the mother's history of pregnancy. After deliberating for two hours, the jury returned a defense verdict completely exonerating the defendant physician and his professional corporation.
The recoveries, verdicts, favorable outcomes, and testimonials described on this site are not an indication of future results. Every case is different, and regardless of what friends, family, or other individuals may say about what a case is worth, each case must be evaluated on its own facts and circumstances as they apply to the law. The valuation of a case depends on the facts, the injuries, the jurisdiction, the venue, the witnesses, the parties, and the testimony, among other factors. Furthermore, no representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.
The recoveries, verdicts, favorable outcomes, and testimonials described on this site are not an indication of future results. Every case is different, and regardless of what friends, family, or other individuals may say about what a case is worth, each case must be evaluated on its own facts and circumstances as they apply to the law. The valuation of a case depends on the facts, the injuries, the jurisdiction, the venue, the witnesses, the parties, and the testimony, among other factors. Furthermore, no representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.
