Morrison Mahoney Partner Dennis Anti successfully tried a 5-day wrongful death medical malpractice case in Berkshire County Superior Court. The case dealt with complications from chemotherapy leading to the tragic death of a 58 year old man from sepsis. This patient had chemotherapy, and unfortunately developed one of its known risks, immunosuppression. As a result, the plaintiff alleged that the chemo should have been stopped to allow the patient’s perianal abscess to heal before continuing with his course of chemo. Unfortunately, despite best efforts, the patient ultimately died of an overwhelming infection.
The defense in this case was that this type of chemo should not be stopped, as doing so would significantly increase the risk of recurrence. Additionally, the defense demonstrated that the infection was localized and not systemic, thus was at small risk for developing sepsis. The pre-trial demand was $4 million dollars. No offers were made. The jury returned a very quick defense verdict.
