Congratulations to Richard Korn and Michael Donelson for their defense verdict in a medical malpractice case in Clay County, Illinois.
The case involved a 35-year-old patient who unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest during the course of a Port-a-Cath removal and replacement procedure in November 2018. Following 40 minutes of CPR, the patient was transferred to a higher-level medical center in Mt. Vernon, where she was diagnosed with a cardiac tamponade. She was then transferred to a hospital in St. Louis, where she was admitted to the ICU, underwent pericardiocentesis, and was discharged 9 days later.
Plaintiff alleged that Richard’s and Mike’s client, a general surgeon, negligently punctured the heart or the superior vena cava during the procedure, causing the cardiac tamponade, which led to the cardiac arrest. Treating physicians at both the Mt. Vernon and St. Louis hospitals supported the plaintiff’s theory of liability.
Richard and Mike presented evidence of the plaintiff’s history of cardiac arrhythmia, which, coupled with the known risks of monitored anesthesia care, led to her experiencing an arrhythmia during surgery. This, in turn, resulted in her cardiac arrest. They further argued that the subsequently diagnosed cardiac tamponade was the result of the 40 minutes of lifesaving chest compressions she received once the Code Blue had been called.
Following three hours of deliberations, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in the defendant doctor’s favor.