Poliquin v. Daniels6/6/1997
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND
Melvin R. Hughes, Jr., Judge
These two related medical malpractice cases present issues regarding (1) the testimony of expert witnesses, (2) the sufficiency of the evidence to support the trial court's judgment, and (3) the refusal of certain jury instructions.
I.
Samuel Daniels (Daniels) died following surgery on June 13, 1993. His widow, Felicia Daniels (the Plaintiff), qualified as administratrix of the estate and, thereafter, filed a motion for judgment against James R. Poliquin, M.D., a general surgeon, along with his professional corporation, Commonwealth General and Vascular Surgery, P.C. (collectively, Poliquin), and against M. Abey Albert, M.D., an anesthesiologist, along with his professional group, Midlothian Anesthesia Associates, Inc. (collectively, Albert). The Plaintiff alleged that Drs. Poliquin and Albert negligently breached the applicable standards of care and that their negligence proximately caused Daniels' death.
The case was tried by a jury which returned a verdict in favor of the Plaintiff against Poliquin and Albert in the amount of $1,004,929.14. After considering the defendants' motions to set aside the verdict, the trial court overruled the motions, except to reduce the amount of the verdict to $1,000,000 in accordance with the statutory limitation on recovery. Code ยง 8.01-581.15. On May 29, 1996, the trial court entered final judgment on the verdict as amended. Poliquin and Albert (collectively, the Defendants) appeal.
II.
According to established law, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff, the prevailing party at trial. On June 12, 1993, Daniels went to a medical clinic for treatment of a perirectal abscess and associated pain and fever. The clinic referred Daniels to the emergency room of Johnston-Willis Hospital for further evaluation. At the hospital, Daniels was examined by Dr. Poliquin who determined that the abscess required surgery. Dr. Poliquin admitted Daniels to the hospital and scheduled him for surgery the next morning.
Daniels was hypertensive, diabetic, and obese, and, because of the surgical risks associated with these conditions, Dr. Poliquin ordered, among other tests, an electrocardiogram (EKG) to detect whether Daniels had any pulmonary or cardiac diseases. The EKG was performed on June 12, 1993, about 10:30 p.m., and Dr. Poliquin referred the EKG tracing to a cardiologist for interpretation.
On the morning of June 13, Dr. Albert arrived at the hospital to administer the anesthesia for Daniels' surgery. Dr. Albert noted that Daniels was obese and had a history of hypertension and diabetes and that Daniels suffered from shortness of breath. Dr. Albert also noted that the EKG tracing, which had not yet been interpreted by a cardiologist, showed signs of abnormality, but he neither reported that fact to Dr. Poliquin nor sought an interpretation of the tracing by a cardiologist.
The surgery, performed by Dr. Poliquin, proceeded as scheduled, and Daniels was placed under general anesthesia. At the Conclusion of the surgery, Dr. Albert noticed that Daniels was experiencing difficulty breathing, and he attempted to intubate Daniels again. Daniels, however, became unresponsive, went into cardiac arrest, and, despite resuscitation efforts, died.
Later on the morning of June 13, a cardiologist interpreted Daniels' EKG tracing and noted that it showed that Daniels possibly had previously suffered a myocardial infarction; i.e., heart attack. According to an autopsy, Daniels had suffered a silent myocardial infarction at least one week prior to his de
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