Patient is injured by nurse during placement of feeding tubes
Plaintiff Mansoor Lahiji (73 years old) died at Providence Little Co of Mary Medical Center Torrance on October 2, 2014. He was suffering from bilateral pneumothoraces. These were caused by John Flynn’s negligent placement of two small bore feeding tubes called “Dobhoff”. First, he had his right lung punctured, and then the tubes were misplaced through his left lung. He suffered bilateral lung injuries that caused him to lose his ability to breathe. This directly led to cardiopulmonary arrest, which was entirely preventable.
Case Details
- Case No. Nahid Lahiji v. Providence Little Co of Mary Medical Center – Torrance, John Flynn, RN and Roman Culjat MD
- Court and case number: Los Angeles Superior Court/ BC 580105
- Judgment or Verdict Date:Monday March 16, 2020
- Date Action Filed:Tuesday April 28, 2015
- Type of Action: Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death
- Judge/Arbitrator(s),Hon. Helen Zukin
- Plaintiffs:Individually and as Heir of Mansoor Lahiji (Decedent), Nahid Lahiji
- Defendants:Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center – Torrance; John Flynn RN; Roman Culjat MD.
- Type:Jury Verdict
Verdict and Settlement
- Award or Gross Verdict:$1,520 645.31
- Award or Verdict:$270 645.31
- Each Defendant to be awarded:60% apportionment for Providence Little Co of Mary Medical Center – Torrance40% apportionment for John Flynn, RN.Jury did not find Roman Culjat M.D. liable.
- Economic DamagesFuneral/burial expenses: $20,645.31
- Non-Economic Damages:Wrongful Death: $1,500,000 – Reduced per Civil Code Section 3333.2(MICRA) to $250,000.
- Arbitration or Trial Time:10 Days
- Jury Deliberation Duration:8 Hours
- Jury polls:12-0 liability to defendants Providence Little Co of Mary Medical Center – Torrance and John FlynnRN; 9-3 liability to defendant Roman Culjat MD, 11-1 damages
- Post-Trial Motions and Post-Verdict SettlementsMemorandum describing costs to plaintiff, including four years’ prejudgment interest. Expert witness fees are pending per CCP Section 98
Personal Injury Lawyers
- Attorney for the PlaintiffNora Hovsepian Law Offices, EncinoSchlichter & Shonack LLP by Jamie Keeton, El Segundo.
- Advocate for the DefendantParrett & Elsberry, James Parrett and Alison Vitacolonna (Irvine). (For Providence Little Co of Mary Medical Center – Torrance and John Flynn RN.Reback McAndrews & Blessey, Manhattan Beach by Robert Reback. Roman Culjat M.D.
Expert Witnesses
- Plaintiff’s Medical Expert(s).Paul Merrel, RN, nursing.Thomas McIlraith M.D. Hospital medicine.James Leo M.D., Critical Care/Internal Medicine.
- The Medical Expert(s), Defendant:William Klein, M.D. Pulmonology/critical Care/Internal Medicine, for hospital and nursing defendants.Andrew Wachtel M.D. Pulmonology/critical Care/Internal Medicine, Dr. Culjat.
Lawyers’ Closing Arguments
Plaintiff’s Contentions:Plaintiff argued that defendant Providence Little Co of Mary Medical Center – Torrance (1) stated that hospital policies and procedures were unclear and ambiguous, and that nurses had too much discretion in making clinical decisions about the placement, removal, and reinsertion of small bore feeding tube placements; (2) that hospital staff competency checklists showed that John Flynn RN was not competent; (3) that despite this known lack of competency, John Flynn, RN was allowed to place small bore feeding tube, thereby exposing plaintiff to an unreasonable risk of foreseeable injuryNOTE: In July 2019, the California Dept of Public Health issued an Administrative Deficiencies Statement against the hospital. It required a Plan of Correction. The hospital had changed its policies to prevent nurses from placing small bore feeding tube and only MDs can do so. This evidence was excluded from trial pursuant to defendant’s motion of limine.Plaintiff argued that John Flynn, RN was negligent in failings to disclose his incompetence in placing small bore feeding tube, negligent in placing two feeding tubes through the patient’s right and left lungs, negligent in not requesting a medical order before replacing the tubes and reinserting them, and negligent in failing recognize red-flag warning signs that indicated that the patient did not have a cough/gag reflex that would have alerted him about the placement of the feeding tube.Roman Culjat M.D. was the defendant. The plaintiff contended that he was negligent when he issued vague and ambiguous orders regarding the feeding tubes to the nursing staff, failing to be present or ensuring that the patient was transferred to another hospitalist and failing to promptly respond to multiple answering-service pages during his time on call.
Defendant’s Contentions:Defendants Providence Little Co of Mary Medical Center – Torrance and John Flynn RN claimed that they weren’t negligent and that plaintiff’s life expectancy in the absence of lung injuries due to the misplaced feeding tube was less than one to 2 months.Defendant Roman Culjat, M.D. Roman Culjat, M.D., claimed that he wasn’t negligent and that he didn’t receive timely information from nursing staff about the misplacement of the feeding tube. He also stated that he replied appropriately to the answering-service pages when he got notice of the patient’s lung injuries, while he was on duty as the hospitalist.
Personal Injuries and Damages
- Plaintiff claims physical injuriesWrongful Death of the Husband of Plaintiff.
- Funeral/burial costs of $20,645.31
Demands and offers
- Plaintiff Demand:199,999
Additional Notes
Trial from Jury: Plaintiff Demands $2,020 645.31.
Settlement offer for defendant hospital during trial: $225,000
