At trial, the Plaintiff presented expert testimony from a Family Medicine Doctor who testified: (1) that the attending physician’s orders to do a chest X-ray were ignored by the nursing staff alleging that the order was entered upon admission to the Resident on 4/24/2019 around 3:00PM; (2) that the nursing home staff failed to immediately report the blood labs to the attending physician; and (3) that the nursing staff failed to recognized that the Resident was in respiratory distress. The Defendant presented evidence and expert witness testimony that proved that (1) the chest X-ray order was entered about the time the Resident’s condition changed on 4/24/2019, that the order was followed almost immediately by nursing staff, and that the chest X-ray was not done because the Resident was discharged via Fire Rescue before the mobile X ray company arrived; (2) the blood labs were done as ordered, and the results were received at the Facility’s fax machine 30 minutes before the Resident’s change in condition, and that it was reasonable for the results to take some time to be reported to the attending physician; and (3) the argument that the nurses failed to notice any respiratory distress was purely speculative, and not supported by evidence. Finally, the Defendant presented evidence that the Resident’s pre-existing comorbidities, including the untreated leukocytosis and previous pneumonia diagnoses, accompanied by the Resident’s advanced age, were the likely causes for the Resident’s change in condition and ultimately death. The Resident’s change in condition was unavoidable, and the Nursing Home was not negligent. The Jury agreed with the Defendant and rendered a verdict in two hours. Plaintiff’s demand at trial was $350,000.00. Read More.
