In what can only be called an amazing victory for any group of lawyers, the attorneys at Edmond and Lindsay, LLP won a $5 million wrongful death medical malpractice suit in Gwinnett State Court on behalf of a widow and her two young sons. The trial team, led by Rod Edmond, M.D., J.D. and Tricia (C.K.) Hoffler was also tried by attorneys Keith Lindsay and Michael E. Perez. “Our case was strong on the medicine but the case was particularly challenging and unusual due to some extraordinary and sensational facts surrounding the victim’s death,” said Edmond in a statement to press.
In March 2009, a 31-year-old husband and father of two sons was evaluated by Dr. Sreenivasulu Gangasani, a board-certified cardiologist at the CardioVascular Group, P.C., a large Gwinnett County, Ga. cardiology practice. The victim had heart-related risk factors and tests, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other tests, showing that he was at high risk of having clogged heart arteries. The victim told Dr. Gangasani that he had been having increasing episodes of new chest pain that radiated into his arm. The pain occurred with exertion and at rest. Dr. Gangasani believed that his condition was probably due to his heart but also believed that the condition was stable. Although his condition required an immediate and urgent workup, an opinion supported by another board-certified cardiologist who testified at trial, Dr. Gangasani ordered a nuclear stress test to be done within 1-2 weeks. The test was scheduled for eight days later. Tragically, a day before the nuclear stress test was to be performed, the victim engaged in a threesome where both he and a friend had sex with a woman, who was not his wife. He died shortly after having sex.
The jury found that the doctor’s medical documentation was missing numerous points of specific information and supported the widow’s allegation that the history taken by the doctor was negligent. The jury also found that with all of the symptoms and tests that Dr. Gangasani had, the patient should have been worked-up immediately instead of being allowed to go home.
“In picking the jury, I had to delve into uncomfortable areas that were at the heart of our case such as adultery, threesomes, infidelity and immigration. Our backs were up against the wall but we gave it all that we had for our client,” says Hoffler. The Edmond trial team skillfully pointed out at least a dozen false representations that the defendant Dr. Gangasani or his experts had given the jury over the course of the weeklong trial. A Gwinnett County jury found that Dr. Gangasani and his practice were negligent. The jury further found that the deceased was also negligent, and the award was reduced by the court by 40 percent.
“I was very familiar with the facts of the case because my former law partner, C.K. Hoffler, consulted me about the case. It was flat out one of the most difficult cases I have ever seen. But the skill and determination of the lawyers persuaded the jury to do the right thing,” said Willie Gary, one of the country’s leading trial lawyers.;
“We give credit to the jury for their ability to not be distracted by the sensational facts of how Mr. Martinez died. They followed Georgia law, found that the doctor was negligent, and understood that Mr. Martinez could have died after any act of exertion, even the type he would do on his job. With this verdict, the victim’s widow and their two young sons will benefit,” said Edmond of Edmond & Lindsay. —yvette caslin
Atlanta Cop Dies After Sexual Encounter; Wife Sues Doctor for $5 Million and Wins (Video)
