Gail Oliver, et al v. Alfred Sadler, M.D., et al.
Published: Nov. 5, 1994 | Result Date: Oct. 7, 1994 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 89449 – $570,000
Judge
Court
Monterey Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Stephen M. Murphy
(Law Offices of Stephen M. Murphy)
Defendant
Barry C. Marsh
(Hinshaw, Marsh, Still & Hinshaw LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
William Creger
(medical)
James Cherry
(medical)
John Copeland
(medical)
Thomas Bush
(medical)
Gordon Lee
(medical)
Defendant
Jeffrey C. Croke
(medical)
Robert W. Armstrong II
(Demler, Armstrong & Rowland LLP)
(medical)
Facts
On July 29, 1988, Plaintiff Gail Oliver, a 30-year-old insurance adjuster, presented to the Defendant Marina Medical Clinic with fever, rash, costovertebral angle tenderness, and sore throat. She was examined by Dennis Eberhardt, a physician assistant -- one which the Plaintiff believed was a physician. Mr. Eberhardt was an assistant to Defendant Alfred Sadler, M.D. Defendant Sadler was off site and at his private practice in Monterey when Eberhardt consulted with him. After the phone consult, Eberhardt diagnosed Plaintiff's condition as vasculitis and prescribed Prednisone, a steroid which suppresses the immune system. A CBC and urine analysis were performed. On August 1, 1988, Plaintiff continued to complain of fever and joint pain and CVA tenderness. The ANA and strep titers were borderline positive, and there were a few red blood cells in the urine. Accordingly, the diagnosis was vasculitis with questionable post-strep glomerulonephritis. Plaintiff took the Prednisone for 10 days before August 4, 1988, when she was seen by Thomas Bush, M.D., a rheumatologist who took her off the drug. Dr. Bush recommended that she stop taking Penicillin and Prednisone and start taking Tetracycline. Mrs. Oliver's liver function tests were normal on July 29 and August 8, 1988. Because of her continued fever, she was admitted to Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz where she underwent a liver biopsy. She had been taking 8 to 10 aspirin a day for at least a week and hemorrhaged following the biopsy and was given multiple transfusions and treated with antibiotics. On August 28, she suffered an anaphylactic reaction to the antibiotics, resulting in a second admission. The antibiotics were restarted on September 4, 1988, resulting shock, kidney failure, and bilateral foot drop. On September 13, she was transferred to Stanford Hospital in serious condition which soon became life-threatening. Within a few days she was transferred to the intensive care unit because of a major system breakdown. She remained in ICU for approximately six weeks on a respirator and fed through a line. She made a recovery and was discharged on November 19. Her diagnoses at Stanford included hepatitis, renal failure, jaundice, anemia, continued fever, adult respiratory distress syndrome, iron overload malnutrition, sepsis, pseudomonas tracheobronchitis, narcotic withdrawal, and congestive heart failure. She was diagnosed retrospectively with adult typical or atypical measles. Stanford had not obtained a measles titer on this patient.
Settlement Discussions
Plaintiff contends that she and her spouse demanded $225,000 and Defendants made no offers.
Specials in Evidence
$492,000 collateralized $28,000 collateralized
Injuries
Multi-system failure including renal failure, liver failure, respiratory distress, anemia, bilateral foot drop -- all requiring a lengthy ICU hospitalization and liver biopsy. Plaintiff's husband also claimed loss of consortium injuries.
Result
The jury found 12-0 in favor of the Plaintiff on causes of action for professional negligence, failure to give informed consent, and negligent supervision; 12-0 in favor of Defendants on intentional concealment cause of action, although the jury did find that the Defendants concealed Eberhardt's status as a physician assistant..
Other Information
Defendant Alfred Sadler authored a textbook on physician assistants.
Deliberation
2.5 hours
Poll
12-0
Length
9 days
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