Hospital Settles Parents' Claims for $13 Million Mid-Trial

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Hospital settles parents’ claims for $13 million mid-trial By: Heath Hamacher June 3, 2014

Pitt County Memorial Hospital has agreed to pay $13 million to settle a lawsuit claiming its emergency transport service crew and one of its doctors were negligent, causing the permanent brain damage of a three-month-old child.

A trial against co-defendant Dr. Craig A. Sisson resulted in a hung jury.

In 2009, Kaiden Gaymon was diagnosed with a severe Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection at Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, where doctors ordered him intubated with an endotracheal breathing tube to protect his airway and determined he should be further monitored in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

With the closest PICU about two hours away at Pitt County Memorial Hospital (now called Vidant Medical Center) in Greenville, Kaiden was loaded into an EastCare ambulance, PCMH’s emergency transport service. The ambulance was staffed by an EMT-paramedic and a transport registered nurse, both certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support.

During the ride to Greenville, he remained intubated and was medically paralyzed with Vecuronium. About 10 minutes before arrival, Kaiden’s condition worsened and he fell into cardiac arrest. Plaintiffs’ attorney Robert Zaytoun of Zaytoun Law Firm in Raleigh said all of the child’s symptoms — including decreased oxygen saturation levels, a slowing heart rate and a flat line on the exhaled carbon dioxide monitor — were indicative of a tube that was no longer providing oxygen. But rather than pull or adjust the tube, Zaytoun said, EastCare staff opted to provide chest compressions and heart medications.

At PCMH, emergency room personnel resuscitated Kaiden and took over his care. Sisson directed an ER physician to attempt reintubation again, causing Kaiden to go back in to cardiac arrest, plaintiffs say. For the next 10 minutes Sisson ordered chest compressions and heart medication. Sisson eventually reintubated Kaiden with a new breathing tube, reports say, and Kaiden came out of cardiac arrest “with a spontaneous heartbeat.”

But after being stabilized and transferred to the PICU, he was diagnosed with permanent hypoxic ischemic brain injury caused by the cardiac episodes and low oxygen.

Zaytoun said that today Kaiden cannot walk, talk or hear very well and that he is fed by a feeding tube. His mental abilities are profoundly impaired, and his vision is impaired. He recognizes his parents by their voices and their kisses.

“No one knows the degree to which he interacts with his world,” Zaytoun said. “We know he feels pain, cries, gets upset and is comforted by his parents’ voice and touch.”

Pretrial attempts at negotiation and mediation failed, Zaytoun said, and defendants contested “all issues of breach, causation and damages.” With nearly 30 years in handling malpractice cases, Zaytoun said this case was as “well- prepared, costly and intensely litigated by all sides at the highest level of expertise as I have ever seen.”

The trial began on April 4, and Zaytoun and his team called numerous experts on emergency transports, emergency room care and emergency airway management before adversely calling the EastCare paramedic who had been with Kaiden that night.

During direct examination of one of his paramedic airway management experts, Zaytoun said, PCMH agreed to settle the matter.

“I cannot tell you the reason for the timing of settlement. Negotiations were ongoing during trial,” Zaytoun said. “The presentation of evidence had gone well for us, we felt.”

Sisson’s trial followed and lasted three-and-a-half weeks before a mistrial was declared on May 15. Zaytoun said the plaintiffs are planning to retry the case.

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“We are very gratified that Kaiden and his family will be relieved of the tremendous financial and emotional burden that began on Dec. 2, 2009,” Zaytoun said. “This case proved again that the courtroom is the place where a family like Kaiden’s can level the playing field against huge medical corporations and justice can ultimately be obtained.”

Verdict Report

Medical Malpractice

Injuries Alleged: Permanent brain injury, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy

Name of Case: Kaiden Gaymon, et. al. v. Pitt County Memorial Hospital, Inc., and Craig A. Sisson, MD

Court: Pitt County Superior Court

Case Number: 10 CVS 3618

Judge: Cy A. Grant

Amount: $13 million

Insurer: Pitt County Memorial Hospital, self-insured with excess coverage; Dr. Craig A. Sisson, MAG Mutual

Date of Verdict: April 24, 2014, settlement with Pitt County Memorial Hospital; May 15, 2014, mistrial declared in Craig A. Sisson trial

Attorneys for defendant Pitt County Memorial Hospital: Tom Harris and Greg Merritt of Harris, Creech, Ward & Blackerby, New Bern

Attorneys for defendant Craig A. Sisson: Sammy Thompson and Bill Moss of Smith Anderson, Raleigh

Attorneys for plaintiff: Robert Zaytoun and Matthew Ballew of Zaytoun Law Firm, Raleigh; Benjamin Clifton, Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh; John Edwards of Edwards Kirby, Raleigh

Follow Heath Hamacher on Twitter @NCLWHamacher

Tagged with: HOSPITAL VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS

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