CHICAGO — A Cook County jury that found a neurosurgeon liable in a $7.75 million verdict in the 2008 post-surgery death of a 56-year-old patient was correct in finding an attending cardiologist not liable for the death, a panel of Illinois appellate justices recently ruled.
The Cook County Circuit Court did not err when it barred evidence noting cardiologist Vijay H. Vohra failed his certification exam for internal medicine, according to the order handed down on Feb. 2 by a three-justice panel from the Illinois First Judicial District Appellate Court.
The appellate justices also found the trial court "did not abuse its discretion" when it permitted evidence that Vohra had properly read "a pre-surgical electrocardiogram (EKG)," according to the order.
Justice Maureen E. Connors delivered the appeals court's judgment, while justices Joy V. Cunningham and Mathias W. Delort concurred.
The justices also unanimously found the plaintiffs in the case, the man's widow and adult children, were not denied a fair trial and "were not prejudiced by the cumulative effect of trial court errors and defendant misconduct," the order said.
Jon Munden died on Nov. 24, 2008, shortly after undergoing cervical disc replacement surgery, which was performed at the recommendation of neurosurgeon Wesley Y. Yapor at Resurrection Hospital in Chicago to relieve his recurring neck and back pain, according to the appeals court's decision.
Munden had a prior history of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, coronary artery disease and sleep apnea and had undergone prior cardiac surgery, according to a release from the Clifford Law Offices, of Chicago, which represented Munden's widow, LaDonna Munden, and the couple's two grown children.
Munden and her children filed a wrongful death case that named about a half dozen defendants, including Yapor, Vohra and Resurrection Hospital. The hospital reached a $2 million settlement with Munden and her children prior to trial, according to Clifford Law.
In June 2016, a Cook County Circuit Court jury handed down the multimillion dollar award in favor of the plaintiffs. Of the remaining defendants, the same jury found only Yapor liable in Mr. Munden's death, according to the order.
Munden appealed that finding, arguing Vohra also should have been found liable for allegedly failing to report abnormalities on a pre-operative EKG taken a few days prior to surgery, according to the order. Munden also contended the trial court had abused its discretion when it excluded evidence indicating allegedly Vohra failed his internal medicine board examinations.
Munden also contended she was denied a fair trial and she "was substantially prejudiced by the trial court's misapprehension of the law and Dr. Vohra’s pattern of misconduct,"the order said.
"The reason for the lack of certification was of limited significance, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in barring such evidence," the justices said. "... We note that plaintiff’s counsel elicited from Dr. Vohra on cross examination that not only was he not board certified, but also that certification in internal medicine requires passing a test, and that Dr. Vohra did not have a membership in the American College of Cardiology."
Yapor is represented in the action by attorneys with the firm of Foran Glennon Palandech Ponzi & Rudloff, of Chicago, according to Cook County court records.
Vohra is represented by the firm of Cunningham Meyer Vedrine, of Chicago.