Wicker Smith obtains a defense verdict in a wrongful death case

Wicker Smith (Central Florida)

Wicker Smith Naples Partners Ashley Withers, Lindsey Grossman, and Kevin Crews recently obtained a defense verdict in a wrongful death case in Collier County, Florida. They represented the hospital and a cardiothoracic surgeon in this case, in which the decedent underwent a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). The CABG was successful, but the patient subsequently had a stroke and died. Plaintiff’s counsel alleged that the client’s doctor breached the standard of care by not consulting vascular surgery when carotid stenosis was discovered during the CABG workup and further alleged that this failure caused the decedent’s death. The defense argued that the standard of care for asymptomatic, unilateral carotid stenosis did not require a vascular consult or any additional treatment modalities before CABG recovery was complete. After six days of trial, the plaintiff asked the jury for $10 million. The jury deliberated less than an hour before returning a complete defense verdict in favor of the hospital and the cardiothoracic surgeon.