News Articles:
Jury awards $1.3M for fatal wound infection
Md. Daily Record Article: $1.34 million verdict STEVE LASH
Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer
September 18, 2009 7:51 PM
When the jury returned after deliberating a scant 45 minutes, plaintiffs’ attorney Annie B. Hirsch
feared that her medical malpractice and wrongful death case was lost.
After a four-day trial, would three-quarters of an hour be enough time to review the evidence and
testimony, let alone calculate her clients’ losses?
“Our stomachs were turning a little bit,” Hirsch said of herself and co-counsel Paul M. Vettori. “We
know that a quick verdict [means] that they don’t get past question number one and discuss
damages.”
Thus, Hirsch, a solo practitioner in Washington, D.C., called it a “pleasant surprise” when the Prince
George’s Circuit Court jury on Thursday returned a plaintiff verdict and awarded $1.34 million to her
clients - the widow and three sons of John William Lucas.
The award will probably be capped at under $1.16 million, Hirsch said.
Surgeon found liable
The jurors agreed with the family that an infection Lucas had sustained while being treated for a
gunshot wound had not been treated in an effective and timely manner by Dr. Said Daee, a trauma
surgeon.
The defense had argued in vain that the infection was not a proximate cause of Lucas’ death.
Lucas was in Washington, D.C., on the evening of Aug. 9, 2006, when a fight broke out between men
who were shooting craps, Hirsch said.
He stepped in to break up the fight. One of the men left, but returned a short time later and fired
shots, striking Lucas.
Lucas was treated at Prince George’s County Hospital Center, where he stayed for 10 days. On Aug.
23, he was readmitted to the hospital for worsening symptoms and was discharged on Sept. 1,
2006, according to the complaint.
Five days later he was readmitted and had multiple surgeries in an effort to clean an infected
abscess.
On Nov. 5, 2006, Lucas died from the infections his family said resulted from the improperly treated
gunshot wound and the surgery’s aftermath.
On Nov. 16, 2007, Lucas’ estate, with his widow, Thomasine, serving as personal representative,
sued Prince George’s Hospital Center and Daee, claiming wrongful death. Thomasine and Lucas’
sons were also named as plaintiffs.
The hospital was later dropped as a defendant.
Trial began last Monday, with both sides calling expert medical witnesses. The jury ultimately found
that Daee was negligent in the care and treatment of Lucas and that this negligence caused his
death.
The jury awarded damages of $341,415.44 for past medical expenses and $3,040 in funeral
expenses.
The jurors also awarded non-economic damages of $350,000 each to Thomasine and to the estate,
as well as $100,000 to each of Lucas’ three sons: John Melton, 18; Juan Melton, 15; and Darius
Lucas, 11. This total of $1 million in non-economic damages will be reduced to $812,500 due to
Maryland’s statutory cap on such damages in wrongful death actions resulting from medical
malpractice.
Vettori, who sat second chair for Hirsch, is with Kenny & Vettori LLP in Baltimore.
Daee’s defense attorneys, Karen R. Turner and Matthew D. Banks, did not return telephone
messages Friday afternoon seeking comment. Turner and Banks are with Hamilton Altman Canale &
Dillon LLC in Bethesda.
- The Daily Record, September 21, 2009 (Published)
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