May 3, 2006

A Louisville, Kentucky jury awarded a defense verdict in favor of a local cardiologist.  The physician was represented by Donald Brown and Joseph Klausing.  In this medical malpractice action, Plaintiffs alleged that the defendant was negligent by administering thrombolytic therapy (tPA) to treat a massive inferior wall myocardial infarction.  Shortly after the administration of tPA the Plaintiff developed an intracranial hemorrhage and died seven days later.  Of interest, Plaintiffs sought to obtain an instruction on the doctrine of lost chance, that is the plaintiff had an 80 percent chance of recovering from the heart attack but for the cardiologist’s error.  The defense not only successfully excluded an instruction on lost chance but also obtained a defense verdict after approximately an hour and a half of deliberations.