Case Results

In the Fall of 2016 our clients received this verdict in Maricopa County Superior Court. This verdict is within the top 5 for civil cases in Arizona for 2016.

$6.3 million dollar verdict against Banner Health for the negligence of its Emergency Department physicians for failing to diagnose and treat the patient’s vertebral artery dissection. Shortly after Banner discharged the patient, he suffered a disabling stroke. As a result, the 39 year-old man was totally disabled.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Shawn Cunningham and his hard-working team at Harris Powers & Cunningham obtained a $5.875 million verdict in a medical malpractice wrongful death case. The Maricopa County jury determined that the untimely passing of a 32-year-old wife and stay-at-home mother of two young children would not have happened but for a series of serious omissions on the part of her health care providers. The jury deliberated for six hours following a two-and-a half week trial.

The general facts are:

On the morning of March 17, 2008, the patient was rushed by ambulance to a local Emergency Department (ED) with severe abdominal pain, bloody stool, and a history of Crohn’s disease. The ED physician evaluated her and ordered a stat CT scan around 8:50 a.m. Around 11:30 a.m., the ED physician learned that the only CT tech on shift fell ill and the stat CT could not be done until the next shift, scheduled for 5 p.m. The patient’s condition continued to worsen and, around 1 p.m., the ED physician decided to have a hospitalist admit the patient to the hospital. Life-threatening surgical issues should have been high on the differential, but neither the ED physician nor the hospitalist called the on call surgeon because they believed he would not see the patient without a CT scan.

Despite receiving pain medication, the patient was in agony. Her condition continued to decline. The CT was not completed until 6:25 p.m. and the results were not communicated to the hospitalist until 7:15 p.m. With the results in hand, the hospitalist contacted the on call surgeon for an urgent, stat, surgical consult. The surgeon ordered conservative therapy and advised he would see the patient in the morning. In response, because of the grave nature of the patient’s condition, the hospitalist pleaded with the surgeon to come in. The surgeon abruptly hung up. Even a call from the hospital’s CEO failed to get the surgeon in that night. The surgeon did not come in and perform surgery until the following morning, but it was too late. The patient was in septic shock and the beginning stages of multi-organ failure. She died on March 19, 2008.

The near unanimous jury verdict made it clear that the health care providers needlessly endangered their patient by failing to comply with simple safety principles — one of which requires physicians to timely diagnose and treat a potentially life-threatening surgical condition. The inability to perform a stat CT scan did not relieve the health care providers of their obligation to protect their patient. The untimely death of this woman — who was a wife, mother, and child — could have been avoided with a simple phone call to the surgeon when the stat CT scan became unavailable or by obtaining an alternative imaging study. The culture at this hospital prevented the health care providers from considering these simple, potentially life-saving alternatives. The omissions of the health care providers put all patients at risk and the jury’s verdict made it clear that such omissions are not acceptable.

The health care providers committed medical malpractice and the jury apportioned 40% of the fault to the on call surgeon, 30% to the hospital, 25% to the hospitalist, and 5% to the ED physician.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Frank Powers and the Harris Powers & Cunningham team obtained a $4.25 million dollar verdict in a medical malpractice injury case. The jury found that the negligent placement and failure to remove a two-foot guidewire from an artery resulted in serious and permanent vascular and nerve injuries.

The general facts are:

After being severely burned, the patient was treated at a local medical center’s burn unit. During the treatment, a guidewire was used to place a central line catheter in the patient’s vein. The doctor mistakenly placed the wire in an artery instead of a vein. Recognizing the problem, the doctor decided to put in a different line. After the new line was put in, the doctor and the nurse could not find the wire that was mistakenly put in an artery. The doctor and nurse concluded it was thrown away, apparently not realizing they lost the wire inside the patient. Neither the doctor nor the nurse told anyone about the lost wire. The guidewire was later seen on a CT scan. By that time, the wire had caused damage.

The Plaintiff also alleged that the radiologists failed to report viewing the guidewire on multiple x-rays that were done soon after the wire was lost. The resultant loss of a major leg artery and nerve damage has caused permanent weakness and chronic pain which requires the daily use of narcotic pain medication. The Plaintiff suffered from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and an increased risk of losing his leg by amputation.

The radiology group argued that the radiologists were never asked to look for a guidewire. The Hospital argued that it did not cause the guidewire to be imbedded, and felt the burn injuries caused the Plaintiff’s leg pain and psychological symptoms.

After trial, the jury deliberated and returned its verdict as follows: Plaintiff to recover $3,675,000; his wife to recover $500,000, and each of his three children to recover $25,000. The jury felt the Hospital was 99% at fault and the radiology group 1% at fault.

Following the trial, the Hospital appealed the verdict. After review, the court of Appeals upheld the verdict and awarded not only the amount of the verdict, but post-judgment interest.