Marshall L. Schwartz and Caitlin E. McCauley recently obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a hospital in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. The matter involved a patient who developed a pressure wound during an admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). The decedent resided at a nursing home (also a named defendant) and was transferred to the hospital in respiratory distress. Notably, the decedent was 95 years old at the time of her admission and suffered from multiple co-morbidities including diabetes, dementia, depression, failure to thrive, respiratory failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Plaintiff alleged that, as a result of the wound, the decedent experienced extreme pain, suffering and death.
Plaintiff’s claims under the Wrongful Death Act were dismissed pursuant to a motion in limine filed on behalf of the hospital. The trial proceeded with testimony from multiple experts and witnesses, including an ICU nurse who cared for the decedent. Ultimately, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants finding that the care provided to the decedent was at all times within the standard of care.