VerdictSearch Case of Note for Week of October 24, 2011: Medical Malpractice Family awarded $5.72M for patient’s fatal arterial condition* Smith v. Long Island College Hospital Medical Malpractice – New York
A Brooklyn-based internist and his practice were ordered to pay a total of $5.72 million to the family of a patient who was alleged to have died from untreated arterial inflammation. The matter dates to the summer of 2005, when Joann Fowler-Smith, 35, sought treatment of persistent headaches. After weeks of failed treatment, Fowler-Smith was admitted to a hospital, where she died nine days later. Fowler-Smith’s estate sued her treating internist and his practice, alleging that the doctor did not promptly consult a specialist and did not consistently administer steroidal medication that would have saved her. The defense contended that Fowler-Smith was properly treated and that her death was not preventable, but the jury found otherwise.
Smith v. Long Island College Hospital
*Summarized from content provided by VerdictSearch: http://www.verdictsearch.com/index.jsp Full case reports available to VerdictSearch.com subscribers.
VerdictSearch at the Law Library
The library maintains a subscription to VerdictSearch Online. Library visitors can access VerdictSearch Online free of charge on computer terminals at the Main Library in Oakland. VerdictSearch Online features searchable case reports for every jury verdict, settlement agreement, judgment, and ADR decision that has been reported in a VerdictSearch publication (formerly Jury Verdicts Weekly) since 1985. By reviewing awards and settlements obtained in similar cases, attorneys and litigants can use VerdictSearch Online for case valuation. Users can save, print, or email results.
Additional Library Resources
The library has several practice guides on the subject of medical malpractice:
- California Medical Malpractice: Law and Practice / by George McDonald, Thomson West.
- Medical Malpractice / David W. Louisell and Harold Williams, Matthew Bender.
- A Practitioner’s Guide to Hospital Liability / James T. O’Reilly, Jolene Sobotka, and Philip Hagan, American Bar Association.
