Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP attorneys William P. Greubel, III and Shannon E. Buckley obtained a defense verdict at trial on behalf of their client, a nurse practitioner, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.
In this case, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant nurse practitioner failed to appropriately respond to elevated TSH levels in an 89-year-old nursing home resident by failing to increase the resident’s Synthroid, causing her hypothyroidism to become severely uncontrolled, causing cognitive decline, multiple falls, pneumonia and death. The plaintiff also sued the nursing home, claiming that the nurses failed to properly communicate the TSH levels to the defendant.
Defense experts established that the defendant nurse practitioner thoughtfully responded to each TSH level by looking at the labs in the context of the full clinical picture and choosing to continue to monitor the resident, and ensure she was properly taking her prescribed medication before making an adjustment to the dosage. Defense experts, and the key treating physician, also testified that the resident died of complications from progressive dementia along with old age, rather than uncontrolled hypothyroidism.
This verdict is especially noteworthy following a mistrial in March 2023. It is an excellent result and a true testament to the hard work, skills, and patience of Will and Shannon over the course of the case. Their calm confidence and logical presentations of the evidence carried the day.
Plaintiff asked the jury for over $1.9 million. After approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict for the defense. The case was tried before Judge Robert Senechalle, Jr.
William P. Greubel focuses on the defense of professional negligence claims, representing physicians, medical groups, hospitals, and other allied healthcare providers in a wide range of complex personal injury and wrongful death matters. In addition to his focus on healthcare-related matters, William has also represented large-scale transportation interests in global insurers in complex environmental contamination and other mass tort coverage disputes.
Shannon E. Buckley focuses her practice on healthcare litigation, working to resolve disputes through negotiations and taking matters to trial when necessary. She represents medical systems, hospitals, physician groups, and individual medical providers in medical negligence cases in Cook County and collar counties across Illinois.
Original source can be found here.