MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

ORANGE CIRCUIT COURT

A defense verdict was returned in a malpractice case involving a 73-year-old patient who died after developing an infection after a stent was placed to treat an esophageal perforation.

Robert Root's widow sued Dr. Luis Herrera, a thoracic surgeon, and Orlando Regional Medical Center, asserting Herrera was late in replacing the stent and failed to properly treat an ensuing infection. Root was hospitalized for nearly two months before he died.

Herrera was dismissed as a defendant since he was acting as an agent of the hospital. The hospital claimed Herrera responded appropriately to the failed stent and disputed the cause of the infection. The defense asserted that Root's death was due to the nature of the esophageal perforation and other comorbidities, not because of any alleged malpractice.

Case: Estate of Root v. Orlando Health

Case No.: 2016-CA-001133-O

Plaintiffs attorneys: Sean Domnick and Nicole Kruegel, Domnick Cunningham & Whalen, Palm Beach Gardens

Defense attorneys: Clay Coward, Richards H. Ford and Taylor A. McLeod, Wicker Smith O'Hara McCoy & Ford, Orlando