Randall C. Monroe obtained a not guilty verdict in medical malpractice stroke case.
Randall C. Monroe tried a medical malpractice case from June 26 through July 9, 2012, and obtained a not guilty verdict in favor of his cardiologist client. The plaintiff alleged that the cerebellar hemorrhage suffered by the plaintiff’s decedent was the result of improper administration of anti-coagulants by the defendant cardiologist. The patient presented to the Resurrection Hospital emergency room with generalized weakness, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, elevated blood pressure, and a past history of prior strokes and myocardial infarctions. The defendant ordered anti-coagulants for the patient because elevated troponin levels and his EKG indicated he was experiencing a myocardial infarction. The plaintiff claimed that the patient’s markedly elevated blood pressure, past history of strokes and presenting signs and symptoms required neurological evaluation prior to starting anti-coagulants. On the second day of admission, the patient began slurring his speech, and a brain CT scan demonstrated a large cerebellar hemorrhage. The defense argued that the anti-coagulants were indicated and necessary due to the ongoing myocardial infarction at the time of admission, and there were no signs of stroke at the time the regimen was started. The plaintiff requested $2.1 million of the jury, claiming the patient was completely functional prior to admission, and required 24 hour care for cognitive and motor deficits resulting from the hemorrhagic stroke.