Recent Verdicts & Settlements Edited by Mitchell A. Greenberg
Mitchell A. Greenberg, of the Greenberg Law Office in Baltimore, received his J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law. He is a member of MTLA’s Board of Governors and serves as Vice-Chair of MTLA’s Trial Reporter Committee. Mr. Greenberg is a member of MTLA’s Membership Committee and serves as MTLA’s delegate to the Task Force for the Rehabilitation of Injured Workers. He is a member of the Maryland State, Baltimore City, and American Bar Associations and also a member of ATLA. His practice concentrates in workers’ compensation, criminal defense, and serious personal injury.
Medical Negligence
Crimmins v. Gong, M.D., et al. Circuit Court for Worcester County No. 97-CV-0003
Facts: The plaintiff, a seventy-one-year- old diabetic with peripheral vascular disease, presented to the 75th
Street Medi-
cal Center in Ocean City with a puncture wound to the foot. He was treated with antibiotics and told to return. The plain- tiff returned to the clinic three days later and the foot had worsened. He was given additional antibiotics and told to return in ten days. Three days after his last clinic visit, he went to the emergency room with gangrene.
Allegations of Liability: Failure to rec- ognize failed outpatient therapy resulting in right below-the-knee amputation. Fail- ure to appreciate comorbidities. Failure to provide IV antibiotics and debride- ment.
Injuries/Damages: Past medical bills; approximately $ 40,000.00, pain and suf- fering
Plaintiff ’s Expert(s): David Kerrigan, M.D. (Vascular Surgeon), Salisbury, MD; Edwin C. Fulton, M.D. (Orthopaedics), Glen Burnie, MD; Vincent Verdile, M.D. (Emergency Medicine), Albany, NY
Defense Expert(s): Clayton Moravec, M.D. (Infectious Disease), Baltimore, MD; Timothy Bissent, M.D. (Emergency Medicine), Baltimore, MD
Verdict/Settlement: $1,000,000.00; last demand: $200,000.00; last offer: $ 0.00
Special Remarks: To counsel’s knowledge, this is the ONLY medical malpractice ver- dict in favor of the plaintiff in Worcester County, Maryland.
38
Dianne Kelly v. Luis A. Queral, M.D. and Drs. Criado and Queral, Vascular Surgery, P.A. Circuit Court for Baltimore County No. C9818112
Facts: Beginning in approximately 1993, the plaintiff, Ms. Kelly, began having arm pain. In April 1995, Ms. Kelly, who was then 53-years-old, experienced a short episode of memory loss. Several days later, Ms. Kelly met with the defendant, Dr. Queral, about her condition and informed him that her primary concern was for a stroke, since her mother had died of a stroke a few years before. Dr. Queral diagnosed Ms. Kelly as hav- ing left subclavian steal syndrome, a condition where obstruction of the sub- clavian artery (the artery supplying blood to the left arm) steals blood away from the blood supply to the brain. Subcla- vian Steel Syndrome is not life threatening nor does it lead to a stroke. Nevertheless, Dr. Queral inappropriately and negli- gently informed Ms. Kelly that she needed surgery right away. Approximately one week after Ms. Kelly first met with Dr. Queral, he performed surgery upon her. During surgery, Dr. Queral initially at- tempted balloon angioplasty of the left subclavian artery. When that was not successful, Dr. Queral converted to the traditional bypass procedure. During a post-operative follow-up, Dr. Queral learned that his surgery was not suc- cessful. Ms. Kelly then began having constant dizziness, at which time she con- sulted another vascular surgeon who re-operated four times in an effort to alle-
Trial Reporter
Plaintiff ’s Counsel: Diane M. Littlepage, (MTLA member), Glen Burnie, Mary- land
Defense Counsel: Diane M. Janulis, Cowdry, Thompson & Karsten, Easton, Maryland
________
viate her symptoms. During the fourth re- operation, Ms. Kelly suffered a massive stroke causing her to lose the ability to speak more than a couple of words and reducing her mentality to that of a four-year-old. The case was tried on informed consent
only. The plaintiff claimed, and all of the defendant’s experts agreed, that Dr. Queral should have told Ms. Kelly she did not need surgery, that the surgery actually increased her risk of stroke, and that if Dr. Queral had not performed surgery on Ms. Kelly she would not have had a stroke.
Injuries/Damages: Major stroke causing loss of ability to speak more than a couple of words, seizures and reduction in men- tal capacity to the level of a four-year-old.
Plaintiff’s Expert(s): Alan Callow, M.D. (Vascular Surgeon), Boston, MA; Alfred Martin, M.D. (Vascular Surgeon), Santa Fe, NM; Dr. Steven Seibert (Forensics Psychia- trist), Baltimore, MD; Mona Yudkoff (Life Care Planner), Baltimore, MD
Defendant’s Expert(s): Dr. Kenneth Cherry (Vascular Surgeon), Rochester, MN; Dr. George Melville Williams (Vas- cular Surgeon), Baltimore, MD; Dr. Richard Neville (Vascular Surgeon), Washington, D.C.; Dr. Joseph Giordano (Vascular Surgeon), Washington, D.C.; Dr. Howard Moses (Neurologist), Balti- more, MD; Sheryl Ranson (Life Care Planner), Kansas City, KS
Verdict/Settlement: $2,500,000 jury ver- dict ($148,773 past medical expenses; $572,722 lost wages; $1,778,495 future medical expenses)
Plaintiff ’s Counsel: Andrew G. Slutkin and Peter M. Rubin (MTLA Members), Slutkin & Rubin, LLP, Baltimore, MD
Defense Counsel: Robert Goodson, Carr, Goodson, & Warner, Washington, D.C.
________ Winter 2000
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48