On November 21, 2011, after a five-day jury trial in the Dubois County Circuit Court in Jasper, Indiana, the jury returned a defense verdict in favor of the defendant, Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center of Jasper, Indiana. DRI members Christopher L. Riegler and Kimberly A. Emil of Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, PC in Indianapolis represented the defendant hospital.
The case involved the post-operative discharge of a patient from the hospital following several sinus surgeries. On May 10, 2006, William Kellams, the patient, appeared at Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center of Jasper, Indiana, for the procedures, having been previously seen by his otolaryngologist for a diagnosis of nasal polyps. After being discharged from the hospital following the procedures, and after several hours at his home, he apparently vomited several times and had a significantly decreased mental status. Ambulance services were called, and he returned to the hospital emergency department where he was diagnosed with a tension pneumocephalus.
The patient’s wife and two sons sued the hospital and the otolaryngologist surgeon; however, the surgeon was dismissed from the case following a summary judgment motion. The plaintiffs asserted that the defendants were not attentive enough to the patient’s post-operative state and that he was not fit to be discharged from the hospital.
The trial issues revolved around what symptoms did or did not exist in the post-operative time frame in both the PACU and the recovery room, and whether earlier intervention by nursing staff at the hospital post-operatively would have made any difference in the patient’s outcome. (Published 2-1-12 by DRI)
