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Wicklund v. Handoyo11/1/2005
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED.
Gaaertner, Sr., P.J., and Draper, III, J., concur.
Opinion:
Defendants/Appellants Drs. Frans Handoyo, M.D. and Binwant Singh, M.D. (collectively "Appellants"), appeal from the trial court's denial of their post-trial motions for a directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict ("JNOV"), or in the alternative, for a new trial, after a jury found them liable in negligence for the death of Plaintiff/Respondent Carl Wicklund's ("Mr. Wicklund" or "Plaintiff") son, David Wicklund ("David"), and awarded Mr. Wicklund $675,000. The trial court entered its judgment on 2 September 2002.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The evidenced adduced at trial, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, reveals that on 28 June 1999, David was admitted to SouthPointe Hospital ("SouthPointe") for psychiatric treatment. While under the care of SouthPointe, David was also treated for abdominal pain, and several medical tests were run to determine the cause of the problem. During his treatment at SouthPointe, David's medical condition worsened, and he was admitted to the intensive care unit on 2 July 1999. Subsequent tests revealed that David had a major colon infection, and he was placed on a respirator that evening. Nonetheless, David's condition continued to worsen, and he died approximately five hours later.
In April of 2001, David's parents, Carl and Vivian Wicklund, filed a medical malpractice and wrongful death action against several defendants involved in the medical treatment of their son during his stay at SouthPointe, including Drs. Handoyo and Singh. The Wicklunds subsequently amended their petition, and named several additional defendants in the action. In particular, the Wicklunds alleged that the doctors involved in diagnosing and treating David's medical symptoms failed to adequately monitor David's abdominal condition while he was under their care. During the course of discovery, however, several of the original defendants were dismissed from the case, and at the time of trial, only Drs. Handoyo and Singh remained.
At trial, Mr. Wicklund presented the expert testimony of Dr. Mark Cooperman ("Dr. Cooperman"), a board certified physician in general surgery. Dr. Cooperman offered testimony, first, regarding whether Drs. Handoyo and Singh deviated from the proper standard of care in their treatment of David, and second, whether their alleged misdiagnosis caused David's death. Dr. Cooperman testified that both doctors' treatment fell below the proper standard of care. In particular, Dr. Cooperman testified that since David's colon infection was not responding to antibiotics, his doctors should have sought a surgical consult. Dr. Cooperman also testified that David should have undergone surgery to remove the infected portion of his colon, and further, that there was a good chance surgery would have saved his life. However, Dr. Cooperman also admitted that there was a small chance David might not have survived surgery, regardless of when it occurred. Specifically, Dr. Cooperman testified that David's primary physician, Dr. Singh, failed to properly monitor David, get appropriate consultations, and react to nurses' calls that David's condition was worsening. Dr. Cooperman summarized that these failures, especially the failure to consult a surgeon, contributed to David's death on 3 July 1999.
During the course of direct examination at trial, Mr. Wicklund's counsel asked Dr. Cooperman to define the proper standard of care for a patient such as David, to which he answered, "the strict definition of standard of care is what a reasonable and prudent physician would do in similar circumstances." However,
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