Woman settles over damage from drugs 
A Jackson County woman who allegedly suffered permanent brain damage from overdosing on opioids during a hospital stay settled for a confidential amount with the treating health center and prescribing physician.
The plaintiff, a 67-year-old retired nurse, went to a hospital around midnight on July 27, 2006, with complaints of abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Upon [...]
CoxHealth apologizes
It’s a situation that turns the typical personal injury lawsuit timeline on its head: Hospital officials admit upfront that an employee made a potentially harmful or fatal error. It releases data on the exact number of affected people and the cause of the error. Perhaps most important, they say they are “deeply sorry.”
Insurance: Medical Malpractice - Refusal To Testify - Cooperation Clause
The Medical Protective Company v. Bubenik (MLW No. 60235/Case No. 09-2324 - 10 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Murphy, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri.
Where a dentist asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege and refused to testify during his medical malpractice trial after two patients died allegedly as the result [...]
Insurer gets off hook for $2.4 million verdict
A family who won a $2.4 million wrongful death verdict against a University City dentist will not be able to collect.
St. Louis jury rules for doctors in wrongful death
A St. Louis jury returned a defense verdict for two doctors after a weeklong trial on a woman’s wrongful death claim following her husband’s fall at a hospital.
The original lawsuit listed other defendants, but by trial only the attending psychiatrist and an internist who saw the patient during his hospital stay remained on the case. [...]
Jury not convinced doctor was at fault
A St. Louis County jury concluded that a doctor could not have known a woman under his care had sustained injury to her colon during surgery.
Holly Thornton was a patient of Dr. David Gearhart at New Ballas OB-GYN Inc. On May 22, 2006, she received a laparoscopic adhesiolysis procedure at the office to separate bands [...]
St. Louis neurologist cleared in Illinois woman’s death
A Williamson County, Ill., jury found a St. Louis neurologist did not fail to properly screen or diagnose a woman who died while under her care.
Rhonda Bombardo, 37, was obese and had a complicated medical history, including a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy; bleeding ulcers; hypertension; a left-lobe thyroidectomy; migraine headaches; gastroesophageal reflux disease; esophageal ulcers; depression [...]
Jury finds ER doctor liable for man’s death
A jury found a physician and his practice negligent for releasing a man from an emergency room who had overdosed on prescription medication and later died.
About 8:30 p.m. Sept. 30, 2004, the man’s wife noticed he was acting strangely at dinner: His breathing become shallow, and he stopped breathing at one point. He told her [...]
Woman, doctor settle over OxyContin suit
A Kansas City woman who suffered brain damage from an OxyContin overdose settled for $750,000 with her treating psychiatrist in Lafayette County Circuit Court.
On Aug. 17, 2006, the woman received a prescription for OxyContin from her psychiatrist for chronic lower-back pain. The next day, she overdosed on the medication and suffered respiratory distress, anoxic brain [...]
Mysteries abound in Medicare set-asides
Rumors swirl and tips are traded, but guidance is scant.
If clients are - or soon will be - Medicare beneficiaries, should Missouri plaintiffs attorneys consider setting aside a chunk of any settlement to pay back Medicare?
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services hasn’t issued a “yes” or “no” answer to that question as it [...]