IL: failure to properly intubate--coma & death: no liability on behalf of emergency...

CASE FACTS: Shirley Johnson, a woman in her fifties, weighing 300 pounds, had a sever allergic reaction to peanuts while eating in a Chinese restaurant. Her husband drove her to nearby Provena Immediate Care Center. A nurse from the center saw that the patient, who was slumped in the passenger

seat of the car and comatose, was having serious difficulty breathing, and that her skin was turning blue. Dr. Walter Drubka, a physician at the center, was summoned. He immediately diagnosed anaphylactic shock and instructed his staff to call 911, inject Johnson with epinephrine, and get him his equipment for treating patients whose airways are blocked. The equipment included an "Ambu bag," which he placed over the patient's face to force oxygen into her lungs, and an endotracheal tube. A team of five paramedics came on the scene three minutes after the Johnsons had arrived at the immediate-care center. They removed her from the car and carried her to an ambulance, while being briefed by Dr. Drubka, who was using the Ambu bag on the patient without success. Dr. Drubka told the paramedics that the patient had to be intubated immediately and offered to do so. They declined his offer and said "We'll take care of it from here." One of the paramedics had performed numerous intubations. However, the patient's jaws were clenched tight. The paramedics administered Versed to facilitate the opening of the patient's mouth. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, the hospital's emergency room staff discovered that the endotracheal tube, which had finally been inserted by paramedics, had been inserted into the esophagus instead of the trachea. A hospital physician reintubated the patient properly. However, by this time the patient had suffered severe and irreversible brain damage, which resulted in a vegetative state, that lasted until the patient died two and a half years later. Her estate brought suit against Provena, the owner of both the hospital and the Immediate Care Center, and Dr. Drubka along with the paramedic service. (The Chinese restaurant was not sued). After a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict, which exonerated all but Provena from fault, and returned a verdict against Provena in the amount of $1 million. Provena appealed.

COURT'S OPINION: The United States Court of Appeal, Seventh Circuit, reversed the judgment of the lower court with an order to enter judgment for the defendant, Provena. The court held, inter alia, that the estate had no case as a matter of law. The court found that the estate's argument for liability was not only bad, but unsound, and would result in deterring emergency responses contrary to public policy. Fagocki v. Algonquin/Lake-in-the-Hills Fire Protection Dist, 07- 1307 06-1685 F.3d -IL

Meet the Editor & Publisher: A. David Tammelleo, JD, is a nationally recognized authority on health care law. Practicing law for over 40 years, he concentrates in health care law with the Rhode Island firm of A. David Tammelleo & Associates. He has presented seminars on medical, nursing and hospital law throught the United States. In addtion to his writings as Editor or Medical Law's, Nursing Law's & Hospital Law's Regan Reports, his legal articles have been published in the most prestigious health law journals. A prolific writer, his thousands of articles, as well as his achievements as an attorney and lecturer, have won him recognition in Martindale-Hubbell's Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, Marquis Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.