David Appleby and Alan Goldfarb, of Alan Goldfarb PA. in Miami. Photo: J. Albert Diaz/ALM.

Miami lawyers Alan Goldfarb and David Appleby obtained a $15 million jury verdict for the family of a 44-year-old woman who died after allegedly contracting MRSA bronchopneumonia at Hialeah Hospital, where she was treated for an asthma attack.

Their case centered on Arleisha Hayes, who had checked in on Jan. 28, 2014, as she had multiple times before for asthma flare-ups.

But this time was different.

Hayes had appeared to be recovering after several days of treatment. But on Feb. 7, hospital representatives transferred her to the intensive care unit because of chest pains and shortness of breath, according to her family's 2015 lawsuit. There, the complaint alleges, a house physician wrongly diagnosed Hayes with a heart attack instead of the pneumonia that was developing in her left lung.

The plaintiffs claimed that once Hayes' health began to deteriorate, medical caretakers should have referred her to an attending or emergency physician instead of the house physician who oversaw her treatment. A house physician is a medical school graduate who doesn't have a license to practice and can only do so if employed by a licensed Florida hospital and under the direct supervision of a doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine.

Hayes' house physician had recently graduated from a medical school but had not attended residency or internships, according to Goldfarb, who argued the physician wasn't qualified to treat Hayes.

"The hospital had an administrative policy that said a house physician could do certain acts, such as histories, physicals and drawing labs, but if [patients] were in a life-threatening rapid response, they needed to call the attending physician," Goldfarb said.

The house physician had only trained for about three months part time, according to Goldfarb's and Appleby's pleadings. He had received low scores on performance evaluations but indicated on his own competency evaluation that he needed minimal assistance with clinical interventions, according to plaintiffs counsel. The lawyers also argued the hospital had failed to properly supervise the house physician.

"He did not have a medical doctor train him during those three months but rather shadowed other house physicians for the three months without hands-on experience," Goldfarb said.

Goldfarb and Appleby found through discovery that the nurse who had called for a rapid response had recognized signs of pneumonia before Hayes went to the ICU. But testimony revealed that this information was never properly conveyed to the house physician, who allegedly ordered multiple cardiac tests but only checked the results of one.

ICU nurses called for a second rapid response, but Hayes' health continued to deteriorate for the next 16 hours, and she died in the early hours of Feb. 9.

Hialeah Hospital denied any wrongdoing and defended its policies and treatment, for which it obtained informed consent. It argued that Hayes' illness was not caused by the hospital but by preexisting conditions and claimed it wasn't legally responsible for the actions of physicians whom it "merely granted staff privileges."

Defense attorney Scott Mendlestein of Falk, Waas, Hernandez & Solomon in Coral Gables confirmed he has filed a motion for a new trial.

"We fought the case on standard of care, causation and damage grounds, and we think that we have a good motion for a new trial," Mendlestein said. "We will continue the process."

Mendlestein litigated the case with Glenn Phillip Falk Jr. and Khristen Vachal-Reese.

Missed opportunities?

Plaintiff expert Charles Grodzin, an associate professor from Emory University and critical care board-certified doctor, testified that Hialeah Hospital missed a crucial opportunity. Grodzin claimed Hayes could have survived the pneumonia if she'd have been treated quickly and given antibiotic drugs vancomycin and Zosyn.

"If they really thought she had pneumonia, they could have drained the lung and tried to attempt to remove whatever fluid was there around the lung," Goldfarb said. "None of those things were done."

The plaintiffs also enlisted Susan Abookire, associate Harvard University professor and doctor who specializes in patient safety and educating hospitals on implementing correct systems. She claimed Hialeah Hospital's house physician program was "designed to fail," according to Goldfarb.

Experts also testified that Hayes had contracted pneumonia at the hospital, having shown no signs of it until several days after being admitted.

'This could change their lives'

Hayes was a single parent, survived by three boys who were 7, 9 and 17. The eldest, a senior in high school, had planned to go to college after graduating. But with their mother gone, he instead took jobs as a security guard and lifeguard to help support his brothers, plaintiffs counsel said.

After almost four hours of deliberation, jurors awarded $7 million to Hayes' eldest son Joshua, and $4 million to her other sons Jamaurie and Jah-Quan—which was just shy of the total $16 million to $20 million Goldfarb and Appleby had asked for.

Joshua testified about how his mother's death had changed the course of his life.

"Eventually, and this is quite remarkable to me because he didn't ask us for help on this, he went on his own to the probate guardianship court and got himself appointed as a legal guardian for his brothers, which entrusted him with the full responsibility of caring for his brothers," Goldfarb said.

Joshua is now a corrections officer at a Dade County jail and hopes to study criminal justice at university, according to Goldfarb. He said the money could help pay for that, and provide tutoring and private school for the younger brothers, who have suffered from distress and had some behavioral problems at school.

"The jury heard [Joshua's] devotion, his commitment, his caring, and yes, there are some neighbors and some friends that help out, but this young man has been so very responsible in caring for his brothers," Goldfarb said. "Hopefully, this could change their lives."

The plaintiffs have since filed a motion for sanctions, claiming the defendant rejected a $2.6 million settlement that could have ended litigation in 2016.

 

Case: Vianna Hayes et al v. Hialeah Hospital Inc.

Case No.: 2015-024325-CA-01

Description: Medical malpractice

Filing date: Oct. 20, 2015

Verdict date: Sept. 30, 2019

Judge: Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Abby Cynamon

Plaintiffs attorneys: Alan Goldfarb and David Appleby, Alan Goldfarb P.A., Miami

Defense attorneys: Scott Mendlestein, Khristen Vachal-Reese and Glenn Phillip Falk Jr., Falk, Waas, Hernandez & Solomon, Coral Gables

Verdict amount: $15 million

 

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