An Unprecedented Directed Verdict
Attorneys Derek Bush and Anna Pardun obtained a directed verdict in a two-week medical malpractice case tried in Tampa, Florida.
Directed verdicts in medical malpractice cases are extremely rare, and the firm’s client indicated that it believed it was the first one they had ever been involved in Florida.
The case involved a minimally invasive hemiforaminotomy and laminotomy at L4-5 performed in 2019. The primary allegations in the case were that the physician performed an inadequate surgery that led to the necessity for future procedures and also requested the attending anesthesiologist to perform an unnecessary epidural injection.
On cross-examination, the plaintiff’s standard-of-care expert admitted that he had changed his testimony and opinions repeatedly in the case (even in the trial), and his only remaining criticism that had any causation to the plaintiff’s injuries was the unnecessary injection.
The anesthesiologist who performed the procedure testified that he had the sole responsibility to determine if the procedure was indicated, complete the informed consent with the patient and perform the procedure. Nonetheless, the plaintiff attempted to argue that the two doctors operated jointly, and the surgeon was the one who requested the procedure and set in motion the course of events that led to the injury.
Our attorneys argued Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B8-9.007, Dohr v. Smith, 104 So. 2d 29 (Fla. 1958), and Vargas v. Dulzaides, 520 So. 2d 306, 307 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988) in support of the Motion for Directed Verdict. The Court initially took the matter under advisement, but then pronounced with one day left of trial that she was going to grant the directed verdict.
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