1.67 Million Jury Verdict for Death following negligent treatment in the Emergency Department

Plaintiff presented to the emergency department with complaints of chest pain and shortness of breath.  A decision was made to admit the patient to the hospital; however, a bed was not available. As the patient sat in a holding area of the emergency department, evidence was presented to the jury that several hospital employees and/or agents breached their respective standard of care owed to the patient.

The facts presented to the jury demonstrated that the patient showed obvious signs of significant internal bleeding and that the significance of the bleeding was never explained to the patient or his daughter. During the course of trial, Plaintiff presented evidence of multiple standard of care violations by the attending hospitalist, emergency room nurses and an emergency room resident physician. The patient ultimately left the emergency department after approximately 22 hours. At the time of his departure, the patient had not been seen by a physician for 15 hours.  Less than 24 hours after leaving the emergency room in the late morning on October 20, 2012, the plaintiff was found dead at his home.

The jury deliberated for just over an hour before rendering an award of approximately $1.7 million dollars for the estate. The jury assigned 30% of the negligence to Mr. Hatfield and 70% against the hospital. Attorneys Jeffrey T. Meyers and Timothy M. Takala are responsible for securing the verdict.