Post One Hundred Fifteen: Chalk up another win for the firm
My trial ended yesterday, which involved a 66-year-old woman who had fallen off a ladder. It was a significant fall (6-8 feet high), and she ended up striking her head on a hard ceramic floor. This resulted in a small laceration to her scalp (among other injuries). She went to the ER where she exhibited no neurological symptoms. Based on this lack of abnormal presentation, our doctor-client did not order a CT scan.
Notably, she was also on Coumadin at the time, but no blood-work was ordered.
As you may guess (given that a lawsuit stemmed from this incident), she returned to the ER two days later after experiencing left-sided numbness. This was the first neurological symptom she exhibited since falling. A CT scan was ordered at the ER that revealed a small brain bleed. She is now somewhat debilitated and largely confined to a wheelchair/scooter.
Jury came back 10-2, defense verdict. Our client wins and the insurance company is happy.
While some members of the jury believed the tests should have been ordered, it came down to an issue of causation. We had an eminent neuroradiologist who testified on two key issues. First, the location of the bleed was very unusual for a fall-type trauma. Her bleed was located in the midbrain and deep in the tissue/brain matter (the pons). Typically, when you knock your head after a fall you will experience a subdural hematoma which is a bruise or trauma to the surface of the brain. Per the good doctor's testimony (as well as that of the plaintiff's own expert), the sort of brain bleed she experienced usually involves severe trauma to the head (such as a beating with a baseball bat) that would be accompanied by the subdural injuries.
The second key to his testimony was that if the bleed was there on the day of her initial visit to the ER, she would have had severe neurological symptoms given the location of the bleed. As he put it, the bleed was found in a very "eloquent" part of the brain, a switchboard for many muscular and cognitive functions: any injury or bleed to that area of the brain would lead even a lay person to figure out that something was wrong.
In any event, it was a tricky case and could have just as easily gone the other way. Some may say it probably should have. But it was a nice win for our firm.
Notably, she was also on Coumadin at the time, but no blood-work was ordered.
As you may guess (given that a lawsuit stemmed from this incident), she returned to the ER two days later after experiencing left-sided numbness. This was the first neurological symptom she exhibited since falling. A CT scan was ordered at the ER that revealed a small brain bleed. She is now somewhat debilitated and largely confined to a wheelchair/scooter.
Jury came back 10-2, defense verdict. Our client wins and the insurance company is happy.
While some members of the jury believed the tests should have been ordered, it came down to an issue of causation. We had an eminent neuroradiologist who testified on two key issues. First, the location of the bleed was very unusual for a fall-type trauma. Her bleed was located in the midbrain and deep in the tissue/brain matter (the pons). Typically, when you knock your head after a fall you will experience a subdural hematoma which is a bruise or trauma to the surface of the brain. Per the good doctor's testimony (as well as that of the plaintiff's own expert), the sort of brain bleed she experienced usually involves severe trauma to the head (such as a beating with a baseball bat) that would be accompanied by the subdural injuries.
The second key to his testimony was that if the bleed was there on the day of her initial visit to the ER, she would have had severe neurological symptoms given the location of the bleed. As he put it, the bleed was found in a very "eloquent" part of the brain, a switchboard for many muscular and cognitive functions: any injury or bleed to that area of the brain would lead even a lay person to figure out that something was wrong.
In any event, it was a tricky case and could have just as easily gone the other way. Some may say it probably should have. But it was a nice win for our firm.
posted by Juggernaut at
4:52 PM
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