January 27, 1999

After a checkup with a Louisville internist, a patient discovered that he had high blood pressure.  The doctor prescribed the drug pressure medicine Accupril.  The medication worked at first, but a few months later, the man suffered a stroke, affecting his speech, mobility, and relations with his wife.  The Plaintiff alleged the internist’s mismanagement of the blood pressure condition resulted in the stroke.  The physician, represented by Donald Brown, counter-argued that the treatment and dosage of the blood pressure medicine was appropriate, noting that blood pressure decreased when the medication program started.  Furthermore, the defense argued that the stroke was unrelated to the internist’s care.  The jury agreed, awarding the Plaintiff none of the over 2.44 million dollars sought.