Page 22 - Verdicts and Settlements Hall of Fame: Medical Malpractice

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
VERDICT & SETTLEMENTS
HALL OF FAME

#13
Plaintiff’s attorney, Charles Silverstein of Silverstein & Bast, said
hospital staff knew that Swaby had suffered several instances of
Case:
minor uterine bleeding before her hospitalization and that she had Cush v. Interfaith Medical Center
been bleeding after entering the hospital. As a result, Silverstein
argued, the hospital should have done everything to extend the Attorney: Charles Silverstein

pregnancy, including preventing Swaby from walking.
Firm: Silverstein & Bast

“The medical record itself showed they had let her out of bed Verdict: 24,100,000

and hadn’t followed their own orders. She was supposed to be on
strict bed rest,” Silverstein said.
By Len Maniace

Kiyanna’s premature birth resulted in periventricular leukoma-
The family of a young woman whose premature birth triggered lacia – the softening and death of tissue deep within the brain that
injuries that prevent her from walking independently was awarded most often affects premature infants – that led to spasticity of both

$24.1 million by a state Supreme Court jury in Brooklyn.
legs and one arm. She also was treated for respiratory distress syn-
drome before leaving the hospital 12 weeks after her birth. Since
Kiyanna Cush and her brother Kevin were born July 28, 1994, 12 then, Kiyanna has needed two operations and periodic physical

days after their mother Kisha Swaby suffered a massive hemorrhage therapy in an effort to overcome her disability. Her brother Kevin
while hospitalized at Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn.
had a healthy birth.

Swaby had been hospitalized and suffered from placenta previa – an Despite those measures, Kiyanna is able to walk only while wear-
abnormal positioning of the placenta – that carries the risk of sudden ing a brace on her torso, using crutches and with the support of a
placenta detachment and severe bleeding, requiring an immediate therapist. Otherwise she uses a wheelchair.

delivery. Despite that problem, Swaby said she was allowed to get
out of bed and walk to a hospital bathroom, which she blamed for The jury found Interfaith Medical Center staff departed from an
the hemorrhage.
accepted standard of medical care and awarded total damages of

$24.1 million for Kiyanna’s medical expenses and for past and future
pain and suffering.

#14
The trial revolved around two key points, said Gonzalez’s attorney
Sam Rosmarin of Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb & Green, P.C., New York,
N.Y. The doctor lost a good visual image as he attempted maneu-
Case: Gonzalez v. Guillaume
ver the scope inside Gonzalez but continued the procedure, which
resulted in the perforation, he said. The physician also failed to Attorney:
adequately explore the possibility that the patient’s pain was related Sam Rosmarin

to a serious problem, the puncturing of the colon, allowing bacteria Firm: Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb & Green, P.C.,
escape into Gonzalez’s body, Rosmarin contended.
Verdict: 20,000,000

“The doctor couldn’t adequately explain why he continued despite
losing visualization and he couldn’t explain why he discounted the
patient’s complaints of pain,” Rosmarin said.
By Len Maniace

Gonzalez needed to undergo the removal of a portion of his colon
A man who claimed that he suffered a perforated colon during and the creation of an ileostomy, which was later reversed in a

a colonoscopy, triggering a series of related health problems, was subsequent surgery. Gonzalez then underwent another procedure,
awarded a $20 million by a state Supreme Court jury in the Bronx.
the repair of two hernias that formed in the weakened abdominal
wall fallowing surgery.

Edgar Gonzalez, a 43-year-old unemployed man, underwent the
procedure performed by gastroenterologist Dr. Carl Guillaume at St. The patient suffered even more problems, painful ibrous tissues
Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx on April 29, 2004.
that can form between organs following surgery, as well as reduced

bowel function, Rosmarin said.
Gonzalez was discharged after ive hours of observation, but
returned to the hospital several hours later complaining that he The jury’s award was based on $15 million for past pain and suf-

suffered abdominal pain. Further examination found his colon had fering, and $5 million for future pain and suffering. The actual award
been perforated. He initially underwent surgery to remove a por- received by Gonzalez was $850,000, based on a settlement that set
tion of his colon, but eventually needed two additional operations.
a cap and a loor on the payout.

20 November 2014