Facts

On Sept. 23, 2011, plaintiff Harveen Dhesi, then 49, was hospitalized subsequent to her back surgery, performed by Dr. Ben Pradhan. Plaintiff filed suit against Dr. Pradhan and Methodist Hospital of Southern California, claiming she was overprescribed pain and sleeping medication.

Defendant Ben Pradhan, M.D. was dismissed prior to trial for a waiver of costs.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
PPlaintiff claimed that following surgery, she was overprescribed pain medication, and that they were combined with sleeping pills and muscle relaxants, and was improperly monitored by defendants. Plaintiff claimed that during her stay at Methodist Hospital of Southern California, she suffered a respiratory arrest, resulting in an irreversible anoxic brain injury.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Methodist Hospital's experts, Raffi Simonian, Pharm.D., pharmacologist, and Davina Leary, R.N., testified that all the care and treatment rendered to plaintiff complied with the standard of care in the community during plaintiff's admission to the hospital. Furthermore, the hospital argued at trial that despite plaintiff's claim, she did not have a respiratory arrest.

Defendants contended that the patient's decreased breathing status was identified by staff properly and timely. Upon finding the patient's condition had changed, the staff reacted promptly by timely employing appropriate nursing interventions including, but not limited to, the placement of the rebreather mask and administration of Narcan, which the standard of care required in an effort to stabilize the patient's respiratory status. The hospital argued that this patient's reaction to the medications could not have been anticipated, and occurred absent any negligence, given her prior history of opiate tolerance, extensive surgeries, and complaints of severe pain before the increased dosage. It is also not a rare occurrence, as in this case, to find a patient with decreased breathing, after administration of opiates.

The hospital further argued that there was no objective neurologic evidence of a cognitive deficit due to a neurologic event during plaintiff's post-operative hospital course.

Settlement Discussions

Defendant offered a waiver of costs via pre-trial CCP 998.

Injuries

Plaintiff claimed that she suffered from seizures or epileptic episodes, as well as from cognitive issues, such as memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and inability to work as a real estate agent.

Result

Defense verdict in favor of Methodist Hospital of Southern California.

Other Information

Defendant Methodist Hospital of Southern California has filed a memorandum of costs. INSURER: Optima. EXPERT TESTIMONY: Defendant's neurologist, Andrew Woo, M.D., opined that that his examination of this patient did not indicate any objective findings to correlate her alleged cognitive deficits and attributed her symptoms to postural tachycardia syndrome. Plaintiff had also undergone four separate instances of EEG tests, including two 72-hour EEGs, which all returned with normal results, without any evidence of seizure activity. The hospital further presented expert testimony of Dr. Kyle Boone, a forensic neuropsychologist, whose neuropsychological examination of plaintiff revealed that plaintiff's neurobehavioral testing was skewed due to lack of effort. Dr. Boone included validity testing in her examination, which revealed that the patient was not putting forth full effort when she was responding to questions. Dr. Boone testified that the patient tested at a cognitive level of a mentally retarded individual, yet, she was able to drive, socialize, sell houses, etc. Dr. Pradhan testified that the nurses reacted promptly to the change in the patient's respiratory status and initiated appropriate care and treatment. He further testified that he saw the patient after discharge in his offices, and she had no apparent problems that might be related to a neurological injury. Dr. Pradhan testified as a witness pursuant to a subpoena issued by plaintiff. FILING DATE: Dec. 14, 2012.

Deliberation

two days

Poll

12-0

Length

nine days