Aggressive Motion And Jury Selection Process Leads To Successful Settlement In Las Vegas Medical Malpractice Trial
September 20, 2018
As we are routinely asked to do, Patton & Ryan recently dropped into a case shortly prior to trial, which ultimately led to a successful result in a vent-dependent quadriplegic medical malpractice case. The main issue in the case was the cause of Plaintiffâs quadriplegia, upon which the Plaintiff and Defendants vehemently disagreed.
The case was rightfully viewed as very questionable as to liability; therefore, Patton & Ryan defended the case by pushing back against Plaintiffâs speculative allegations and demands. Plaintiff arrived at Defendantâs hospital with an aggressive bacteria already attacking his body. The Defendants provided proper care and treatment given the circumstances and how Plaintiff presented at their hospital. After a few days of treatment at Defendantâs hospital, Plaintiff was transferred to another hospital for continued care and treatment. At the time of transfer Plaintiff was able to move all extremities. Eight days after transfer, he was unable to move his extremities and inevitably became a quadriplegic.
Defendants and their experts agreed that the condition causing Plaintiffâs quadriplegia was not preventable. Defendantsâ position was that the sole cause of Plaintiffâs quadriplegia was the aggressive bacterial infection he developed prior to his arrival at the hospital. Plaintiff and Plaintiffâs experts believed that there was a different cause that the Defendant at the first hospital missed and failed to diagnose, causing Plaintiffâs quadriplegia.
In an attempt to exploit our Defendant, Plaintiff tried to allege that the subsequent treating hospital and all medical providers had no involvement in causing Plaintiffâs quadriplegia. However, some of Plaintiffâs own experts agreed that the subsequent treating hospital could have prevented Plaintiffâs unfortunate outcome and were negligent as well.
To further assist with defending the case, new law was created allowing non-parties to be listed on the verdict form. Therefore, allow the defense to argue that if the cause of Plaintiffâs injuries was due to the lack of treatment Plaintiff received, as being argued by Plaintiff, the defense was permitted to argue the cause of his injuries was the subsequent treating hospital, plaintiff chose not to sue.
Therefore, as an alternative to Defendantsâ argument that there was nothing to prevent Plaintiffâs quadriplegia, the defense would have been permitted to put the subsequent hospital on the verdict form in an effort to show that it was the hospitalâs negligence in its treatment of Plaintiff for eight days following his transfer from the Defendantsâ care. Due to the circumstances, and because it was a several liability case, the defense became much stronger on the eve of trial with the new law.
At the beginning of jury selection, Patton & Ryan renewed all of Defendantsâ previously denied pertinent motions in limine and motions for summary judgment. After approximately one week of jury selection, with numerous motions for mistrial made by the defense and knowing we were fully prepared to proceed to verdict, Plaintiff accepted the last offer made at mediation one month prior.