Attorney obtained a defense verdict for a Nurse Practitioner following a seven-day jury trial

Attorney obtained a defense verdict for a Nurse Practitioner following a seven-day jury trial. Plaintiff, a 24 year old female, suffered a perforated sigmoid colon requiring emergency surgery as well as four additional procedures to address recurrent peritonitis and sepsis. After transfer to a hospital she was placed into a drug-induced coma, during which time she suffered a severe stroke resulting in right-sided paralysis. Her abdomen required a graft to close and she underwent a subsequent abdominal hernia repair. It was alleged that defendant was negligent in failing to bring plaintiff into the office initially when she called twice in the ten days prior to perforation. As well it was alleged that defendant was negligent in her examination and diagnosis when she saw plaintiff two days prior to perforation. The defense centered around the existence of specialty evaluations, both before and after defendant's involvement, which also failed to identify the presence of the fecalith that ultimately caused the perforation. Plaintiff also had a substantial non-compliance history. The jury deliberated an hour and a half before returning their findings of no negligence for either defendant or the family doctor.