Morrison Mahoney Partner Bill Smart and Associate Elias Papakostas recently obtained a defense verdict following a three-day medical malpractice trial in Hillsborough County Superior Court, Northern District.
Plaintiff alleged that our client, an emergency medicine provider, failed to prescribe adequate antibiotic prophylaxis for an animal bite (cat), leading to infection, multiple surgeries and impairment of the right upper extremity and hand. Both parties were in agreement that the first-line antibiotic for animal bites was contraindicated due to a history of adverse reactions to penicillin.
Plaintiff claimed that in selecting alternative antibiotics, our provider failed to prescribe an additional agent that would specifically cover anerobic bacteria. The defense presented evidence from a highly qualified emergency medicine physician who testified that monotherapy with the chosen oral antibiotic was reasonable and within standard of care, and that additional or alternative antibiotics were unlikely to have prevented the infection and complications that Plaintiff experienced from the bite. Notably, while neither side was able to produce a copy of the on-line resource that the defendant-provider actually consulted, the defense admitted a well-known textbook on emergency medicine and other literature from the time that supported her decision.
A defense verdict was returned after approximately 15-20 minutes of deliberations.
