Another Defense Verdict for HPM&B in Queens County

Michael Sullivan obtained another unanimous defense verdict in a Supreme Court, Queens County medical malpractice case on December 6, 2019 after a two week trial. 

The plaintiff was 71years old and underwent hernia repair surgery on July 27, 2015. Approximately 24 hours after surgery, the plaintiff suffered an arrest requiring resuscitation and he ended up in the ICU on a ventilator for eleven days. The plaintiff claimed that his arrest was caused by a failure on the part of the defendant Hospital to administer his regular medications for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).  The plaintiff also claimed that the Hospital’s staff failed to respond to his worsening respiratory distress in the hours leading up to his arrest.  Using the medical records, cross-examination of the plaintiff and other family members, and an expert in pulmonary medicine, Mr. Sullivan established that the plaintiff did not suffer any respiratory distress on the day in question and that the plaintiff’s arrest was cardiac related, not a result of respiratory failure.  The jury unanimously agreed after six days of testimony before the Honorable Joseph J. Esposito.