Jones, et. al. v. The Medical Center of Southeast Texas and Nabeel Abdullah, M.D. ($4.5 Million Dollar Verdict)
Jun 13, 2013OUTCOME: Won
On June 13, 2013, after two days of deliberation, a Jefferson County jury found The Medical Center of Southeast Texas and a local cardiologist liable for the death of a Jefferson County woman, Janell J ... ones. The jury determined that The Medical Center and Dr. Nabeel Abdullah were to pay The Estate of Janell Jones and her husband, Henry Jones, $4.5 million for the loss associated with her death. In a trial that lasted the better part of two weeks, a jury heard how in May 2008 Mrs. Jones presented to The Medical Center Emergency Department with complaints of chest pain and other symptoms consistent with a heart attack. A former hospital employee who was the receptionist that day testified how there was a 20-25 minute delay in getting Mrs. Jones to a room for treatment. The receptionist explained how despite her attempts to get nurses to help Mrs. Jones she was turned down repeatedly in violation of the hospital’s own chest pain protocol. She also described that Mrs. Jones was left alone for a period of 10-15 minutes at her reception desk before finally being rushed to the back where CPR was performed to no avail. After Mrs. Jones died, the evidence showed that one nurse came back to the receptionist and said that he did not think Mrs. Jones has a “real” chest pain. This nurse’s non-belief was in contradiction to basic nursing training which is that patient complaints are to be believed until proven otherwise. The jury was also told how the hospital wanted to fire the receptionist because of a report she made detailing what happened to Mrs. Jones that day and that the hospital never inquired into whether the allegations in her report were in fact true. Along with this neglect, the evidence also showed that the medical records had irreconcilable inconsistencies that made for more uncertainty as to the actual times treatment was rendered to Mrs. Jones. A local nursing professor testified that the care provided to Mrs. Jones by The Medical Center fell below the standard of care for an emergency department. After considering the evidence, the jury found the hospital grossly negligent, meaning it had a conscious indifference to the safety and welfare of Mrs. Jones. The Medical Center was found 75% responsible for her death. The jury also found Dr. Abdullah negligent in his care of Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Jones was a cardiology patient of Dr. Abdullah. Eight days before her death Dr. Abdullah had placed two stents in Mrs. Jones’ heart. After this procedure the evidence showed Mrs. Jones continued to have chest pains and other symptoms consistent with a heart attack, which was abnormal. Testimony from Dr. Paul Dlabal, an expert cardiologist, showed that Dr. Abdullah should have hospitalized Mrs. Jones given her post-stenting symptoms. Instead of hospitalization, Dr. Abdullah just prescribed medication which was insufficient and found to be negligent. Dr. Dlabal testified that Mrs. Jones stood a 95% chance of living had she been hospitalized after experiencing post-stenting chest pains. Dr. Abdullah was found 25% responsible for her death. Clay Dugas and Malachi Daws represented the Jones family.
