$27 million verdict blamed on refusal to settle
In a case the opposing attorney says is a clear example of why some cases should be settled, Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut has been ordered to pay $27 million for botching a man’s heart operation and leaving him severely disabled.
A jury recently awarded the $27 million to a man from Wappingers Falls, NY, after finding that Yale-New Haven doctors were responsible for leaving 29-year-old William Jacobs blind, unable to speak, with no control of his arms and legs, diminished mental function, and in need of round-the-clock care for the rest of his life. The verdict is thought to be one of the largest ever awarded by a jury in a Connecticut court.
The verdict came after a monthlong malpractice trial. The attorney representing Jacobs and his family says the huge award was justified because of the injury to his client, but Michael Koskoff, a New Haven attorney for the plaintiff, says Yale made a strategic error that probably ended up costing millions of dollars.
"The lesson for hospitals here is settle the case,’" he says. "We made substantial efforts to settle, and they made very insubstantial efforts in return. I cannot understand why they pursued this case all the way through trial."
A panel of judges had reviewed the case for settlement negotiations and recommended the hospital settle, Koskoff says. The hospital refused any reasonable settlement offer, he says.
"The settlement would have been considerably less than the verdict. Considerably less," he says. "Our people were very desperate and would have settled for much less than $27 million. I don’t know if the hospital was hoping the family would just fold or take very little, but whatever they were thinking, it didn’t work."
Yale-New Haven Hospital responded to Healthcare Risk Management’s request for comment by providing a statement noting that the verdict will be appealed. A hospital spokesman declined to provide any other comments. The judge could reduce the size of the jury award at the hospital’s request.
Patient’s aorta injured during surgery
The case originated when Jacobs was 17 years old and injured in a traffic accident that killed four others. He had internal injuries and two broken legs. Originally treated and released from a New York hospital near the location of the accident, he soon was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment of repeated fevers.
In the trauma unit at Yale-New Haven, a doctor diagnosed a torn aorta and sent Jacobs to surgery. Koskoff contends the surgery was unnecessary because Jacobs had only a small tear in the inner lining of the aorta, not enough to prompt surgery. The hospital’s experts argued during the trial that the tear was more severe, and the surgery was appropriate.
Jacobs went into cardiac arrest during the surgery, resulting in brain damage that left him with severe disabilities. Koskoff says the cardiac arrest was caused by a surgeon tearing the aortic wall with a clamp.
"There was a series of errors that led to the injury," he says. "The clamp was applied by a resident, rather than by the surgeon in charge. Everyone recognized that a resident certainly can participate in surgery of this type, but applying this particular clamp was a critical maneuver in the surgery and a very high-risk situation."
The plaintiff’s experts testified that the clamp should have been applied by the surgeon in charge. Koskoff presented evidence of economic losses approaching $19 million, mostly for the lifelong care Jacobs will need. The jury awarded $10 million for pain and suffering but reduced that amount to account for negligence involving the automobile accident. The initial verdict was $30 million, reduced to $27 million by the jury.
"I don’t think the verdict was based on sympathy, although my client certainly elicited a lot of sympathy because of his condition," Koskoff says. "There was at least one very clear departure from the standard of care — tearing a big hole in the aorta with a clamp. There was evidence on both sides saying the clamp should not result in a tear when applied properly."
Reference
1. William W. Jacobs and Arlene Jacobs, co-conservators of the estate of William J. Jacobs v. Yale University School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven Superior Court, CV-88-0277513(x16)S.
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