John Coghlan recently obtained summary judgment dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims against his clients, a physician and physician assistant working in an emergency room. Plaintiff presented to the emergency room on two separate dates complaining of headaches, weakness, and blurred vision. The plaintiff was seen by John’s clients during the two respective visits and they ruled out any acute issues before discharging the Plaintiff. Approximately two weeks after being seen in the emergency department, Plaintiff had a stroke.
In her lawsuit, the Plaintiff alleged John’s clients failed to timely diagnose her stroke and further alleged they deviated from accepted standards of care by failing to order appropriate imaging studies, refer her for consultation, or start her on oral anticoagulants. At the conclusion of discovery, John moved for summary judgment, relying on the affidavit of his expert witness in emergency medicine who opined that the care and treatment John’s clients provided to Plaintiff was proper and within accepted standards of care. Plaintiff opposed the motion with an affidavit from her own emergency medicine expert. John, with the assistance of his expert, was able to successfully argue to the Court that Plaintiff’s submissions failed to create an issue of fact and also successfully argued the Plaintiff’s expert’s opinions were conclusory and unsupported by the evidence in the record.
In a well-reasoned 34-page Decision and Order, the Court agreed and dismissed the claims against John’s clients with prejudice.
