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Widow wins $1.54M malpractice verdict
HUNTINGTON -- A Cabell County jury awarded a Barboursville widow $1.54 million in a lawsuit over a 2002 surgery that led to severe brain damage for her husband, Thomas L. Thornburg.
After more than a week of evidence and testimony, the jury found on Aug. 13 against Huntington Anesthesia Group Inc. In the verdict, the jury cleared the doctor involved of any wrongdoing, but faulted a nursing anesthetist for inadequate attention to Thornburg's vital signs.
Surgeons were installing an automatic implantable cardiovascular defibrillator, when the anesthesia team failed to notice deteriorating vital signs, the jury found. A lack of breathing over a considerable amount of time deprived oxygen to Thornburg's brain and caused severe damage.
The device temporarily fixed Thornburg's heart condition, but the 62-year-old man eventually died Aug. 26, 2006. Doctors faced with repairing another cardiac episode decided not to render medical treatment. Doctors said the final episode was treatable, but Thornburg's total health, mental state and living conditions influenced the decision.
The $1.54 million verdict followed a pre-trial settlement reached with St. Mary's Medical Center, where the surgery was performed. The hospital agreed to pay $115,000 to settle wrongful death allegations.
Thornburg's widow declined comment Monday, but family attorney Charlie Hatcher expressed satisfaction with the recent verdict.
"I was real glad for my client," he said. "They get some compensation for the loss of a husband and loss of a father. That's the whole purpose. It doesn't replace him. It's silly to think that, but it certainly gives them some feeling that justice was done and that is our way, in the United States, of compensating victims of negligence."
Attorneys for Huntington Anesthesia Group Inc. could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for St. Mary's Medical Center had no comment.
The $1.54 million verdict includes $1.1 million for non-economic losses. That exceeds West Virginia's non-economic cap by $850,000, but the case pre-dated medical malpractice reform that decreased the cap from $1 million to $250,000.
Thornburg's verdict also exceeded the earlier cap by $100,000, but Hatcher said that mistake and other jury misunderstandings will be remedied in post-trial motions. He anticipates the final award will exceed $1.54 million.
The jury determined that Dr. Stan Striz did not deviate from the accepted standard of care, but blamed Robert Zhea, a certified registered nursing anesthetist.
The jurors divided the $1.54 million award among Thornburg's widow and two children. His widow received 70 percent, while the children received 15 percent each.
Thornburg's widow will receive 100 percent of the settlement with St. Mary's Medical Center.
