Failure To Report Abnormal EKG Results in Wrongful Death Verdict -- $1 Million

would have prevented his July 22, 2001, death. He also testified about the failure to properly read or inform Mr. Shearman of the abnormal EKG results

- which were described as a red flag for a major surgical risk - taken before Mr. Shearman's surgery. Our anesthesiology expert then testified concerning Dr. Young's failure to seek out the pre-op EKG results and his failure to appreciate abnormal heart readings when Mr. Shearman was in the recovery room following the appendectomy.

Plaintiffs settled with Heartland Regional Medical Center after the first week of trial for $250,000 and then proceeded to verdict against Dr. Young. After deliberating for almost seven hours, the jury returned with a $1 million verdict against Dr. Young. More satisfying to the plaintiffs was the fact that shortly after Mr. Shearman's death, Heartland Regional Medical Center changed its pre-operative anesthesia policies to require that anesthesiologists confirm that an EKG has been performed.

An anesthesiologist's failure to inform a 51-year-old northwest Missouri man about an abnormal EKG study resulted in a $1 million wrongful death verdict in St. Joseph, Missouri.

The events leading up to this eight-day jury trial began on September 23, 2000. Michael F. Shearman, a pharmacist who owned and operated a pharmacy in Savannah, Missouri, went to the emergency room at Heartland Regional Medical Center with severe abdominal pain. Doctors diagnosed him with probable appendicitis and, following consultation with a surgeon, performed an EKG as part of the hospital's routine preoperative procedures. The EKG revealed coronary artery disease and at least one prior heart attack. The staff at Heartland did not share the results of the EKG with Mr. Shearman or his family.

A few hours later, defendant Kenneth

R. Young, M.D., a licensed anesthesiologist at Heartland, performed a pre-anesthesia physical assessment of Mr. Shearman that should have included a review of the abnormal pre-operative EKG. Dr. Young's review gave surgeon Edward M. Beheler clearance to perform the routine appendectomy. Following surgery, Dr. Young performed a post-anesthesia assessment that, once again, should have included a review of the EKG results. Mr. Shearman was discharged from the hospital four days later without ever knowing about the abnormal EKG.

Nearly 10 months later, on July 22, 2001, Mr. Shearman began mowing their acreage while his wife, Rebecca J. Rotterman, ran errands. She returned later that day to find Mr. Shearman's lawn mower pulled up awkwardly in front of the garage and Mr. Shearman lying dead inside the house on the carpet. The county coroner determined the cause of the death to be natural and did not recommend an autopsy. In accordance with Mr. Shearman's wishes, his family had his body cremated.

In the months prior to Mr. Shearman's death, the Shearmans were building a new pharmacy that required a significant bank loan. Because of this, the lender recommended that Mr. Shearman increase his life insurance coverage. Mr. Shearman underwent a health screening, including an EKG. The results were pending when he passed away.

A few weeks after Mr. Shearman died, the life insurance company called Mrs. Rotterman to tell her that the company could not approve Mr. Shearman's application. The denial was based in part on an abnormal EKG study taken as part of the application. After talking with one of Mr. Shearman's daughters, Kelly Logan, a medical student, Mrs. Rotterman obtained her husband's medical records, including the EKG report from his September 2000, appendectomy at Heartland Regional Medical Center. Kelly showed her father's Heartland EKG to one of her professors, who needed only a quick glance to declare that the EKG was a sure way to rouse a cardiologist out of bed in the middle of the night.

A pretrial settlement was reached with the surgeon, Dr. Beheler. The case was then tried in Buchanan County Circuit Court before the Honorable Weldon C. Judah. The remaining defendants were Dr. Young for failing to notify Mr. Shearman or his family about the abnormal EKG results obtained during the appendectomy, and Heartland Regional Medical Center for failing to notify its physicians and Mr. Shearman about the abnormal test result.

To prove plaintiffs' case, Lynn Johnson faced two major hurdles at trial. First, with no autopsy and no body to exhume, he had to establish that Mr. Shearman died from coronary artery disease. Second, he had to prove that available medical treatments would have prevented Mr. Shearman's death had he been informed of the abnormal EKG results.

The first hurdle — that Mr. Shearman died from coronary artery disease — was cleared with help from our expert pathologist who testified that considering the circumstances surrounding Mr. Shearman's death and his medical history, he more likely than not died from blockage in his coronary arteries and not from a different type of heart problem or heat stroke, as the defendants suggested. The second hurdle - that medical treatments available

before Mr. Shearman's death would have prevented his untimely passing — was cleared with help from our cardiologist. He testified that through dietary changes, exercising, medications, and more invasive procedures such as angioplasty and stents, Mr. Shearman could have sought treatment that