Texas Verdicts

Type:

Verdict-Defendant

State:

Texas

Venue:

Nueces County

Court:

Nueces County District Court, 28th

Injury Type(s):

Case Type:

Wrongful Death; Medical Malpractice – Prescription and Medication

Case Name:

Shannon Salinas, individually and as administrator of the estate of Brandon Alan Garcia, and J.J. Garcia v. Jeffrey D. Johnson, D.O.,
No. 2011-DCV-767-A

Date:

February 19, 2014

Plaintiff(s):

J.J. Garcia (Male), 

Shannon Salinas (Female), 

Estate of Brandon Alan Garcia (Male, 18 Years)

Plaintiff Attorney(s):

David M. Glenn;
Law Office of David M. Glenn;
Grapevine,
TX,
for
J.J. Garcia ■ Thomas A. Crosley;
The Crosley Law Firm P.C.;
San Antonio,
TX,
for
Shannon Salinas, Estate of Brandon Alan Garcia ■ Greg W. Turman;
Brunkenhoefer & Turman, PLLC;
Corpus Christi,
TX,
for
Shannon Salinas, Estate of Brandon Alan Garcia ■ Timothy Bryan Smith;
Law Office of Tim Smith, P.C.;
San Antonio,
TX,
for
J.J. Garcia

Plaintiff Expert(s):

Charles Chitwood;
M.D.;
Family Medicine;
Leander,
TX called by
David M. Glenn, Thomas A. Crosley, Greg W. Turman, Timothy Bryan Smith ■ Richard Honaker;
M.D.;
Family Medicine;
Frisco,
TX called by
David M. Glenn, Thomas A. Crosley, Greg W. Turman, Timothy Bryan Smith

Defendant(s):

Jeffrey D. Johnson, D.O.

Defense Attorney(s):

Robert C. Hilliard;
Hilliard Munoz Gonzales;
Corpus Christi,
TX,
for
Jeffrey D. Johnson, D.O. ■ John B. Martinez;
Hilliard Munoz Gonzales;
Corpus Christi,
TX,
for
Jeffrey D. Johnson, D.O. ■ Richard C. Woolsey;
Woolsey & Associates;
Corpus Christi,
TX,
for
Jeffrey D. Johnson, D.O.

Defendant Expert(s):

Mark Dodson;
Family Medicine;
Corpus Christi,
TX called by
Robert C. Hilliard, John B. Martinez, Richard C. Woolsey ■ Brian Samford;
Psychology/Counseling;
San Antonio,
TX called by
Robert C. Hilliard, John B. Martinez, Richard C. Woolsey

Insurer(s):

The Doctor’s Co.

On Jan. 4, 2010, plaintiffs’ decedent Brandon Garcia, 18, was assaulted with a baseball bat. He went to an emergency room, where the injury was stapled and he was given a single dosage of Darvocet. He then went to another emergency room and asked for pain medication, but was refused. He then presented to a minor emergency clinic and was given a prescription for 40 Norco tablets by Dr. Jeffrey D. Johnson, One Norco contains 10 milligrams of hydrocodone. As Garcia was leaving the clinic, he asked for a Xanax prescription, saying he was being treated by a psychiatrist for bipolar disorder but could not get in to see the psychiatrist, whose name he gave. Johnson gave Garcia a prescription for 120 1-milligram Xanax tablets. Garcia used his parents’ insurance information to have the prescription filled at a CVS Pharmacy. About five hours after seeing Johnson, Garcia and a 15-year-old female friend each took a lethal amount of each drug and both died. Garcia had never been prescribed Xanax, but he had been through four rehabilitation facility admissions for addiction to the drug. He had been discharged from such a facility four days before seeing Johnson. Garcia’s parents sued Johnson for medical malpractice, alleging that he was negligent and grossly negligent for failing to recognize Garcia’s drug-seeking behavior, failing to call the psychiatrist to verify Brandon’s story, and for prescribing this combination and amount of drugs to an 18-year-old whom he had never seen before. The plaintiffs also sued CVS, but settled before trial for an undisclosed amount. Xanax and hydrocodone depress the central nervous system, and when the drugs are taken together, this effect is synergistic and can increase the risk of respiratory failure. Xanax is the most abused drug in Corpus Christi. Johnson acknowledged that hydrocodone is probably the second or third most abused and that he took no special precautions before giving Garcia the prescriptions in question. The court excluded evidence that the Texas Medical Board sanctioned Johnson for his conduct in connection with prescribing the drugs to Garcia. Plaintiffs’ counsel also sought unsuccessfully to introduce evidence that, after Garcia’s death, a physician’s assistant employed by Johnson was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a prescription drug ring. Plaintiffs’ expert Dr. Charles Chitwood said the deficiencies in Johnson’s brief treatment of Garcia included poor and incomplete history; inadequate physical exam; failure to seek outside contributory history; lack of attempt to verify Garcia’s medication history; and egregiously inappropriate choices and number of drugs to prescribe; failure to document any discussion of the drugs’ risks; and failure to arrange follow-up or discuss the patient with his primary care doctor or psychiatrist. These failures, Chitwood said, directly enabled Garcia’s relapse, overdose and death. At trial, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that Garcia and Johnson were equally responsible for Garcia’s death. Johnson contended that he was reasonable in believing Garcia; that Garcia failed to follow the instructions on the prescription; and that Garcia alone was responsible for his death. The plaintiffs did not call Dr. Richard Honaker, whom they had retained before retaining Chitwood. The defense, on cross-examination, asked Chitwood about Honaker’s opinions, over plaintiffs’ counsel’s objections. According to defense counsel, Honaker did not feel that Johnson’s prescribing both Xanax and hydrocodone was negligent, and although Honaker opined that Johnson prescribed too many pills in this instance, the number of pills he said would have been appropriate was more than the deceased pair ingested.

Garcia died of an overdose of Xanax and narcotic pain medication. His parents sought damages for past and future loss of companionship and society and past and future mental anguish. Each parent sought $500,000. The estate sought damages for funeral and burial expenses only.

The jury found no negligence by Johnson. After the verdict, plaintiffs’ attorney Tom Crosley commented that "This case represents a family taking a stand on principle, and trying to use the court system to make their community a safer place. We spent tens of thousands of dollars, and hundreds of hours of work, and although we did not obtain a victory in the courthouse, we feel this case was important, and may help to prevent a similar tragedy in the future, both by educating the parties involved and the community."

Judge:

Nanette Hassette

Demand:

$150,000

Offer:

None

Jury Vote:

10-2

This report is based on information that was provided by plaintiffs’ and defense counsel.