Senior Partner Rosaleen McCrory, assisted by Of Counsel Elizabeth Sandonato, obtained a defense verdict in Supreme Court, Nassau County. The case involved a 73 year old woman who called our client internist’s medical practice reporting that she felt ill with fever and a deep cough. She declined to present for an office visit as she felt too sick. She was told to schedule an appointment when she felt well enough and in the interim was prescribed antibiotics. On examination five days later, she reported feeling better but was fatigued and felt as though she pulled a muscle in her chest from coughing. Two days later, she was diagnosed with a heart attack and died one week later. Plaintiff contended that the complaints were signs of an ongoing “stuttering” heart attack. The defense established through expert testimony that it was reasonable to treat decedent for a presumed infection, and that the trend of the cardiac enzymes demonstrated that the heart attack occurred after the last contact with the defendants. The jury returned a unanimous defense verdict.
