New York Verdicts

Plaintiff(s):

Estate of Elissa K. Bogucki (Female, 49 Years)

Plaintiff Attorney(s):

Kostantinos Mallas;
Georgaklis & Mallas PLLC;
Brooklyn,
NY,
for
Estate of Elissa K. Bogucki

Plaintiff Expert(s):

Stephen Marcus; M.D., F.A.C.S.; Orthopedic Surgery; Cedarhurst,
NY called by:
Kostantinos Mallas

Defendant(s):

Eric Gordon, 

Lawrence Hospital Center

Defense Attorney(s):

John M. Bugliosi;
Pilkington & Leggett, P.C.;
White Plains,
NY,
for
Eric Gordon, Lawrence Hospital Center

Defendant Expert(s):

Craig Levitz;
Orthopedic Surgery;
Rockville Centre,
NY called by:
John M. Bugliosi

Insurer(s):

Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Co. for both defendants

On Jan. 12, 2010, plaintiff’s decedent Elissa Bogucki, 49, a dispatcher, was examined by an orthopedist, Dr. Eric Gordon. Gordon was reevaluating an injury that he had treated on Dec. 25, 2009, at Lawrence Hospital Center, in Bronxville. He reviewed the results of an MRI scan that he had ordered during the week that followed his initial examination, and he opined that Bogucki was suffering a rupture of the knee’s anterior cruciate ligament, damage of the knee’s menisci, a sprain of the knee’s medial collateral ligament and a fracture of the knee’s tibial plateau. He recommended continued use of a brace that he had prescribed during his first examination of Bogucki. On Jan. 20, 2010, Gordon developed impairment of her respiration. She also experienced dizziness. She was transported to a hospital, where she suffered cardiac arrest. She could not be resuscitated. Her death was a result of a massive pulmonary embolism. Bogucki’s widower, Andrew Bogucki, claimed that his wife’s fatal embolism was a product of an undetected thrombosis that occupied her right leg. He contended that proper treatment could have prevented or dissolved the thrombosis. Mr. Bogucki, acting as administrator of his wife’s estate, sued Gordon and Lawrence Hospital Center. The estate alleged that Gordon failed to prevent Ms. Bogucki’s embolism, that the failure constituted malpractice, and that Lawrence Hospital Center was vicariously liable for Gordon’s actions. The estate’s counsel contended that Ms. Bogucki’s thrombosis was a result of prolonged immobility that was caused by the brace that Gordon applied. The estate’s expert orthopedist contended that Bogucki was obese, that she used cigarettes, and that obesity and smoking increase a person’s likelihood of developing a thrombosis. The expert contended that a prophylactic anticoagulant should have been prescribed after each of the three examinations that Gordon performed. The estate’s expert also opined that Gordon did not timely order performance of an MRI scan. He contended that the test should have been ordered during Gordon’s first examination of Bogucki. The expert concluded that Gordon departed from accepted standards of medical care. The defense’s expert orthopedist contended that Bogucki’s condition did not necessitate administration of an anticoagulant. He opined that the medication’s potential benefits would not have outweighed its associated risks. The expert noted that he has performed hundreds of repairs of torn anterior cruciate ligaments, and he claimed that he never contemporaneously prescribed an anticoagulant. He acknowledged that a thrombosis’s likelihood would have been increased by the presence of a fracture of the tibial plateau, but he opined that Bogucki’s injuries did not include a fracture. Defense counsel also contended that Bogucki’s right leg was not immobilized by the brace that Gordon applied. He claimed that she did not require use of crutches, and he noted that she was able to operate a motor vehicle. Defense counsel also contended that the estate’s counsel could not prove that Bogucki’s thrombosis was a result of the injury that Gordon treated.

The estate’s counsel claimed that Bogucki suffered a thrombosis that caused a fatal pulmonary embolism. During the morning of Jan. 20, 2010, Bogucki developed impairment of her respiration. She also experienced dizziness. She was placed in an ambulance, and she was transported to Catskill Regional Medical Center, in Harris. She suffered cardiac arrest, and she could not be resuscitated. Bogucki, 49, died Jan. 20, 2010. She was survived by an estranged husband and two children. Bogucki’s estate sought recovery of wrongful-death damages that included the cost of her funeral and burial, damages for the estate’s pecuniary losses, damages for Bogucki’s pain and suffering, and damages for Bogucki’s children’s loss of parental guidance.

The jury found that Gordon departed from an accepted standard of medical care. It determined that an anticoagulant should have been prescribed after the examination that was performed on Jan. 12, 2010. Lawrence Hospital Center was not deemed liable. The jury determined that the estate’s damages totaled $770,000.

Estate of Elissa K. Bogucki: $10,000 Wrongful Death: Funeral Burial Expense; $350,000 Wrongful Death: Survival; $100,000 Wrongful Death: loss of parental guidance; $310,000 Wrongful Death: pecuniary loss

Judge:

Lester B. Adler

Demand:

$700,000 (total, from both defendants)

Offer:

None

Trial Length:

9
 days

Trial Deliberations:

2.5
 days

Jury Vote:

6-0

Jury Composition:

1 male/ 5 female

This report is based on information that was provided by plaintiff’s counsel. Additional information was gleaned from court documents. Defense counsel did not respond to the reporter’s phone calls.