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Medical Malpractice

Wagstaff & Cartmell has long been known for its advocacy on behalf of doctors and hospitals in medical malpractice cases. Representing some of the most respected hospitals in the Midwest, as well as numerous individual physicians and practice groups, Wagstaff & Cartmell has earned the reputation of a firm willing to take cases to trial. Such cases are not easy to teach and to explain to juries, but Wagstaff & Cartmell has proven that it can be done successfully on behalf of health care providers.

In rare instances, Wagstaff & Cartmell has also represented plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases, and in 2007, Wagstaff & Cartmell's Jeff Kuntz obtained a plaintiff's verdict in a medical malpractice case in St. Louis, Missouri that ranked in the Top 10 Plaintiff's Verdicts in the state of Missouri for the year, as ranked by Missouri Lawyer's Weekly.

Our attorneys represent a broad range of health care providers and entities, including hospitals and hospital systems, physicians and physician organizations, long term care providers, home health agencies, individual dental care providers and organizations and mental health care providers and organizations. Our health care attorneys have extensive experience in representing health care clients and the unique legal issues they confront, including: malpractice litigation, HIPAA compliance, accreditation, regulatory compliance, licensing issues, business and contract disputes, and insurance issues.

Here are just a few examples of recent defense verdicts obtained by our attorneys on behalf of health care providers in cases seeking substantial damages at trial:

• Hospital/Defense Verdict: The plaintiff was admitted to our client's hospital for a cardiac catheter procedure. Following the procedure, the plaintiff was thought to be slow in waking up from anesthesia. The following morning the plaintiff was diagnosed with having suffered a stroke. Plaintiffs alleged that the doctors and nurses failed to timely diagnose and treat the stroke. A Jackson County, Missouri jury found no negligence and awarded our clients a defense verdict.
• General Surgeon/Defense Verdict: In this wrongful death case against a general surgeon, Plaintiffs alleged that defendant failed to timely diagnose a complete mechanical small bowel obstruction and failed to timely operate to treat the same. Defendant argued that the decedent did not have a complete mechanical small bowel obstruction, but instead suffered from a paralytic ileus, which cannot be treated with surgery. A Johnson County, Kansas jury found no negligence and awarded our client a defense verdict.
• OB-GYN/Defense Verdict: Plaintiffs alleged that during delivery, the baby's shoulder became stuck (referred to as a shoulder dystocia), and that the defendants used improper fundal pressure and excessive force and caused a permanent brachial plexus injury to the baby. A Buchanan County, Missouri jury found that no negligence occurred and awarded our client a defense verdict.
• Orthopedic Surgeon/Defense Verdict: Plaintiff underwent a total knee replacement surgery, and alleged that she suffered permanent, disabling nerve injuries as a result of improper alignment of her femur relative to the artificial knee implant. A Clay County jury found found no negligence and awarded a defense verdict.
• Anesthesiology/Defense Verdict: This wrongful death case involved an 18-year-old victim of a severe auto accident who underwent surgery to repair femur fractures in both legs. During surgery, the patient decompensated, and three hours later he died. His mother brought a wrongful death action, alleging that her son's death was the result of negligence by his treating physicians, including the anesthesiology team. A Jackson County, Missouri jury found that the defendants were not negligent and awarded our clients a defense verdict.
• ENT/Defense Verdict: Our client, an ENT doctor, performed a delicate surgery on the plaintiff, removing a tumor from his pharynx (voice-box), but preserving the patient's voice. Post-operatively, however, the plaintiff developed a bad infection from an IV that spread to his spinal cord and paralyzed him. Plaintiff sued the doctor who treated his infection, who settled. Our client, the ENT doctor, refused to settle. We tried the case to a Jackson County jury, which found in favor of our client and awarded a defense verdict.