$20 Million Wrongful Death Verdict in Medical Malpractice Case
Mobile, Alabama â Wednesday afternoon a Mobile County jury returned a $20,000,000 verdict against Coastal Anesthesia, P.C., Dr. Randall Boudreaux, and CRNA Don Ortego for the wrongful death of Paulett Pettaway Hall. Ms. Hall died on January 16, 2006 at Springhill Memorial Hospital, hours after aspirating bile into her lungs during anesthesia induction. "I am just so relieved to see justice take place and to know the jury heard us. My daughter deserved better and it’s my hope that this verdict will prevent other people from dying unnecessarily," stated Paula Pettaway, mother of the deceased. The trial began on November 30, 2009 and was held before Circuit Court Judge Robert Smith.
Paulett Hall, a 32-year-old wife and mother of two children, was scheduled for exploratory surgery on January 16, 2006 at Springhill Memorial Hospital in Mobile. Ms. Hall had been complaining of severe abdominal pain since her admission to Springhill Memorial on January 11, 2006. She presented to the anesthesia care team prior to surgery with more than ten risk factors placing her at high risk for pulmonary aspiration. Despite the presence of these risk factors, Dr. Boudreaux and Mr. Ortego failed to take proper aspiration risk precautions, which include an intubation technique called rapid sequence induction. Every medical expert who testified at trial, including the Defendants themselves, agreed that a rapid sequence induction is required for patients at risk for aspiration.
The evidence presented at trial revealed that multiple risk factors went totally ignored by Coastal Anesthesia's doctor and CRNA because neither completed a thorough pre-anesthesia assessment. Despite Ms. Hall's continuing abdominal problems and gastrointestinal issues at Springhill Memorial Hospital, neither Dr. Boudreaux nor Mr. Ortego ever conducted an abdominal physical assessment to identify aspiration risk factors. Further, neither Dr. Boudreaux nor Mr. Ortego ever evaluated Ms. Hall's medical records, which would have revealed additional aspiration risk factors, prior to administering drugs of anesthesia. As a consequence, her risk factors went ignored and a routine induction was utilized instead of the required rapid sequence induction.
Almost every medical expert who testified at trial, including those testifying on behalf of Coastal Anesthesia, P.C., Dr. Boudreaux and Mr. Ortego, told the jury that it was a breach of the standard of care for Paulett Hall's anesthesia care team to fail to identify her risk factors and employ a rapid sequence induction to prevent aspiration. Testimony provided by the Defendants themselves and their experts revealed that, due to time constraints associated with scheduled surgeries, anesthesia doctors and CRNAs often do not have time to perform adequate, complete and thorough assessments of patients undergoing anesthesia. As a consequence, these providers are not able to identify risk factors in their patients before having to induce anesthesia, and many patients who have risk factors predisposing them to problems with anesthesia are not receiving complete evaluations prior to surgery.
"This case revealed a very troubling patient safety issue related to the provision of anesthesia services. The evidence from the Defendants themselves and from their experts indicated that while national standards require anesthesia personnel to conduct certain evaluations to protect the life of the patient, these standards are not being followed, and in some instances are being ignored, in what can only be an effort to complete more surgeries," said Mike Worel, lead counsel for the Plaintiff and a partner at the Mobile law firm of Cunningham Bounds, LLC.
According to State law, all human life is priceless and thus not compensable. Accordingly, wrongful death damages in Alabama are entirely punitive. Damages in a wrongful death case should be of such an amount to reflect the enormity of the wrong committed while likewise protecting and preserving the public at large, by deterring similar wrongs in the future. "This jury verdict was particularly important to protect the public considering these Defendants indicated they would continue to treat future patients the same way they treated Ms. Hall, despite admissions that their treatment fell below the acceptable standard of care," stated David Cain, additional counsel to the Plaintiff and also a partner with Cunningham Bounds, LLC.
The insurance company for Coastal Anesthesia, its doctor and CRNA, was Mag Mutual. The insurance company was given the opportunity to settle this case prior to trial, but refused to engage in any negotiations whatsoever. The company took the position that the case was entirely defensible and offered nothing to resolve the case prior to trial.
The law firm of Cunningham Bounds, LLC, founded in 1958, is based in Mobile, Alabama and has been representing plaintiffs for over 50 years. Today the firm continues its tradition of representing victims in cases involving catastrophic injury caused by work-related accidents, defective products, Montgomery truck accidents and automobile accidents, and medical malpractice.
The following language is required by Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct: "These recoveries and testimonials are not an indication of future results. Every case is different, and regardless of what friends, family, or other individuals may say about what a case is worth, each case must be evaluated on its own facts and circumstances as they apply to the law. The valuation of a case depends on the facts, the injuries, the jurisdiction, the venue, the witnesses, the parties, and the testimony, among other factors. Furthermore, no representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."
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