Florida Verdicts

Amount:

$13,200,000

Type:

Verdict-Plaintiff

State:

Florida

Venue:

Pasco County

Court:

Pasco County Circuit Court, 6th

Injury Type(s):

Case Type:

Medical Malpractice – Brain Injuries, Failure to Test, Failure to Diagnose

Case Name:

Coral Gables Trust Company, as Guardian of the Property of Arcadio Hernandez v. Morton Plant Hospital Association, Inc., Bethany Berghoffer, Helene Harper, EmCare, Inc., and Florida EM 1 Medical Services PA,
No. 51-2011-CA-5035

Date:

December 13, 2013

Plaintiff(s):

Arcadio Hernandez (Male, 17 Years), 

Coral Gables Trust Co.

Plaintiff Attorney(s):

Steven K. Deutsch;
Deutsch & Blumberg, P.A.;
Miami,
FL,
for
Arcadio Hernandez, Coral Gables Trust Co.

Plaintiff Expert(s):

Joel Falik;
M.D.;
Neurosurgery;
Greenbelt,
MD called by
Steven K. Deutsch ■ Bruce Kohrman;
M.D.;
Neurology;
Miami,
FL called by
Steven K. Deutsch ■ Polly Zimmerman;
RN;
Emergency Nursing;
Chicago,
IL called by
Steven K. Deutsch ■ Shalon Buchs;
M.D.;
Emergency Medicine;
Gainesville,
FL called by
Steven K. Deutsch ■ Darlene Carruthers;
C.R.C.;
Life Care Planning;
Buffalo,
NY called by
Steven K. Deutsch ■ Michael Baumann;
M.D.;
Emergency Medicine;
Falmouth,
ME called by
Steven K. Deutsch ■ Richard Hamilton;
PhD;
Neuropsychology;
Coral Gables,
FL called by
Steven K. Deutsch

Defendant(s):

EmCare Inc., 

Helene Harper, 

Bethany Berghoffer, 

Florida EM 1 Medical Services PA, 

Morton Plant Hospital Association Inc.

Defense Attorney(s):

Christopher J. Schulte;
Weekley Schulte Valdes, LLC;
Tampa,
FL,
for
EmCare Inc., Helene Harper, Bethany Berghoffer, Florida EM 1 Medical Services PA, Morton Plant Hospital Association Inc. ■ Louis J. La Cava;
La Cava & Jacobson P.A.;
Tampa,
FL,
for
Morton Plant Hospital Association Inc. ■ Andrew C. Efaw;
Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP;
Denver,
CO,
for
Helene Harper, Bethany Berghoffer

Defendant Expert(s):

Brian Hoh;
Neurosurgery;
Gainesville,
FL called by
Christopher J. Schulte, Louis J. La Cava, Andrew C. Efaw ■ Peter Hill;
Emergency Medicine;
Baltimore,
MD called by
Christopher J. Schulte, Louis J. La Cava, Andrew C. Efaw ■ Reuben Holland;
Emergency Medicine;
Sarasota,
FL called by
Christopher J. Schulte, Louis J. La Cava, Andrew C. Efaw ■ Thomas Hedges;
Neuro-ophthalmology;
Boston,
MA called by
Christopher J. Schulte, Louis J. La Cava, Andrew C. Efaw

On July 10, 2010, plaintiff Arcadio Hernandez, 17, presented to the emergency room at Morton Plant North Bay Hospital in Pasco County complaining of pain on and around his right eye. A physician’s assistant, Bethany Berghoffer, diagnosed him with a form of conjunctivitis, commonly known as pinkeye. A supervising doctor, emergency room specialist Helene Harper, signed off on Berghoffer’s diagnosis. Arcadio was given a prescription for antibiotics and discharged. In November 2010, an aneurysm in Arcadio’s head burst. He underwent emergency surgery and ultimately suffered brain damage. Coral Gables Trust Co., as guardian of the property of Arcadio, sued Berghoffer and Harper for medical malpractice. The plaintiff also sued Morton Plant Hospital Association Inc; the entity that provided staffing for the hospital’s emergency room, EmCare Inc.; and the entity that provided physician assistant services to the hospital, Florida EM 1 Medical Services PA, claiming they were vicariously liable for the negligence of Berghoffer and Harper. EmCare and Florida EM 1 were dismissed from the case prior to trial. Plaintiff’s counsel claimed Harper never examined Arcadio. He claimed that had Arcadio been properly diagnosed, he would not have suffered a ruptured aneurysm that resulted in brain damage. One of the plaintiff’s emergency room experts, Shalon Buchs, testified that had a CAT scan and other testing been performed on Arcadio, it would have discovered that he had a brain aneurysm behind his right eye. She testified that had the aneurysm been detected, treatment would have prevented it from bursting and causing his brain damage. She testified that the providers’ failure to perform proper testing fell below the standard of care. Defense counsel contended that Arcadio’s diagnosis was correct. The defense’s emergency room physicians testified that the treatment he received was appropriate for the circumstances. They testified that the teen’s presentation in the emergency room would not have caused a reasonable provider to do further testing. They testified that there were no symptoms that were related to a brain bleed at the time Arcadio presented to the emergency room. They further testified that bleeding in the brain would cause a headache and not just eye pain. Defense counsel also claimed that Arcadio was comparatively negligent for providing discrepancies in whether he felt pain on the right or left side of his head or whether he had a headache or simply eye pain.

Plaintiff’s counsel claimed that Arcadio suffered permanent brain damage. He claimed that he also suffered permanent loss of the use of his non-dominant left hand. He claimed that he suffers weakness on the left side of his body. He also claimed that he suffers seizures and walks with a cane. Arcadio claimed that he had trouble concentrating and remembering things. Arcadio’s life care planner testified that Arcadio will require a caretaker for the rest of his life. Arcadio sought to recover damages for past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, and past and future pain and suffering. His counsel suggested the jury award $9.5 million. Defense counsel argued that the defendants were not responsible for Arcadio’s damages.

The jury found that Berghoffer, Harper and Morton Plant Hospital were each 30 percent negligent and Arcadio was 10 percent negligent. It determined that Arcadio’s damages totaled $13.2 million. Because of comparative negligence, the net award was $11.88 million.

Arcadio Hernandez: $9,300,000 Personal Injury: Future Medical Cost; $1,000,000 Personal Injury: Future Lost Earnings Capability; $2,900,000 Personal Injury: pain and suffering

Actual Award:

$11,880,000

Judge:

W. Lowell Bray Jr.

Trial Length:

2
 weeks

Trial Deliberations:

5
 hours

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