The cover-up, they say, is often worse than the underlying offense. In a medical malpractice case, it can also be more expensive. On July 24, Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill agreed to pay a $2.3 million settlement to the family of a 68-year-old woman, which alleged that employees of the hospital sought to cover up the cause of her death.
Emma Davis went to PMC in February 2010 for an outpatient procedure to have a pacemaker put in place. According to attorneys for Davis’ estate, during the procedure Davis’ oxygen levels and blood pressure dropped to unhealthy levels, but doctors initially failed to respond. When they did attempt to revive Davis’ oxygen levels, they allegedly placed the air tube in her esophagus instead of her windpipe and failed to properly monitor her breathing levels. The estate alleged that the misplaced air tube caused Davis’ death.
The most damning allegations, however, involved actions and omissions following Davis’ death. Family members claim that no one at the hospital told them about the misplaced air tube, and that a hospital employee falsely told them that “Mrs. Davis would have died even if she was at home because of her breathing problems.” They also claim that no one at the hospital ordered an autopsy or filed a report with state officials, even though both were required under the circumstances.
Evidence of malpractice surfaced only after a twist worth of a Sidney Lumet film—family members received an anonymous phone call from someone who claimed to be in the room at the time of Davis’ death and said that the hospital was trying to sweep the circumstances of it under the rug. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say they never learned the identity of the person who made the call.
The hospital and Davis’ estate reached a settlement for $2.2 million, with $1.6 million coming from the hospital and $600,000 from underwriters for Davis’ cardiologist, Vasant Patel. Davis’ anesthesiologist, Robert Baker, was dismissed from the suit, but underwriters for Baker agreed to pay $100,000 in costs. The arrangement means that Baker will not be reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank.
Davis was survived by her common law husband of over 30 years, Andrew Strong. Half of the proceeds of the settlement went toward the estate’s wrongful death claim, and half went toward Strong’s claim for loss of consortium. There were no economic damages.
Chad McGowan of McGowan, Hood and Felder in Rock Hill represented the plaintiffs. Billy Gunn of Holcombe Bomar in Spartanburg represented the hospital; George Beighley of Richardson Plowden in Columbia represented Patel and Carolina Cardiology; and John C. Bradley Jr. of Moore, Taylor & Thomas in West Columbia represented Baker and Anesthesia Associates of Rock Hill.
McGowan said that a case like Davis’ would ordinarily settle in the range of $700,000 to $800,000, but he believed the evidence of a cover-up increased its value. He said he hoped that the size of the settlement would encourage hospitals to be forthcoming about all the circumstances of patient deaths.
“We teach our kids that doing the bad thing is bad, but trying to cover it up is even worse. It’s so much better for everybody if, when bad things happen, people are open and honest and up front about it,” McGowan said.
Neither Gunn nor Beighley returned calls seeking comment.
Follow David Donovan on Twitter @SCLWDonovan
SETTLEMENT REPORT: MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Injuries alleged: Wrongful death, loss of consortium
Case name: Gilmore v. Amisub of SC, Inc.
Case number: 10-CP-46-3899
Court: York County Court of Common Pleas
Date of Settlement: July 24, 2013
Amount: $2.3 million
Attorney for plaintiffs: Chad McGowan (Rock Hill)
Attorneys for defendants: Billy Gunn (Spartanburg), George Beighley (Columbia) and John C. Bradley Jr. (West Columbia)