The plaintiff’s decedent, age thirty-eight, sustained severe injuries when he was a pedestrian struck by a car, including a subdural hematoma with brain surgery and permanent paraplegia. After being hospitalized for one month he was transferred to a facility for sub-acute care. While at the facility the decedent pulled out his gastrostomy feeding tube.

A nurse employed by the facility reinserted the tube but allegedly failed to check for proper placement and simply injected air without listening for aspiration. The defendant nurse gave permission for feedings through the tube to be resumed the following day. The G-tube had been inserted into the peritoneal cavity instead of the stomach, causing the decedent to immediately develop pain and peritonitis.

Facility employees claimed they immediately called the doctor, around 1:00 p.m., but the doctor said he didn’t get the call until 4:00 p.m., and he did not arrive at the facility until 7:00 p.m. The doctor then transferred the decedent to a hospital, but the man died at 12:05 a.m. while being prepped for surgery. No autopsy was performed.

The plaintiff claimed that the facility staffs improper insertion of the tube led to the death and that the doctor’s failure to immediately transfer the patient to the emergency room when he was called caused or contributed to the death.

The doctor maintained that he timely evaluated and transferred the decedent. According to a Jury Verdict Reporter a $2 million verdict was returned against the facility and the doctor only. The jury apportioned liability sixty percent to the facility and forty percent to the doctor. Post-trial motions were pending.

With permission from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts; Lewis Laska, Editor, 901 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203-3411, 1-800-298-6288.