Congratulations to our friends, R. Kent Brown and Jon R. Moore of Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC, on the $6,130,000 verdict they received on behalf of their client in the Superior Court of Cabarrus County, North Carolina.
The Defendant appealed the ruling, and the Court of Appeals set aside $5,500,000 of the verdict which represented compensation for non-economic damages resulting from the death of their client’s husband. The Court of Appeals ordered a new trial on non-economic damages only. Plaintiff appealed the Court of Appeals decision and presented the case to the Supreme Court for the State of North Carolina on January 7, 2020, under Docket Number 18PA19.
The suit alleged that on April 30, 2012, the Decedent received emergency care from the Cabarrus County EMS for chest and other related pains. The responding EMS took the Decedent’s vitals and performed an electrocardiogram while en route to the hospital. The results showed no signs the Decedent had a heart attack. The EMS prepared an “EMS snapshot” to document the care provided to the Decedent, including medication and his vital signs. This document is to be left with the intake nurse at the hospital when transferring the patient. In the case at hand, the Plaintiff asserted the EMS snapshot was “never given nor communicated to his treating physician.”
The hospital discharged the Decedent after spending only a few hours in the emergency room. Later that same night, he suffered a heart attack at his residence and was found unresponsive by his wife. EMS returned to the home, where they pronounced him “dead on the scene.”
The Plaintiff filed a Complaint for Medical Negligence on April 23, 2014. On January 19, 2016, they dismissed their complaint, without prejudice, after initially filing a Motion to Amend. On February 1, 2016, the Plaintiff refiled their complaint. The multiple-day trial began on October 24, 2016, during which the Defendant motioned the Court for a directed verdict twice. Both motions were denied.
The jury returned their verdict on November 15, 2016, in favor of Plaintiff for the total amount of $6,130,000. On December 16, 2016, Defendant filed a Motion for Either Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict (JNOV) or Motion for a New Trial; both were denied on January 19, 2017. Defendant appealed.
The Court of Appeals reversed in part and vacated in part the trial court while also granting a new trial on the issue of non-economic damages only. The Plaintiff appealed this matter to the Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina. In their September 25, 2020 Opinion, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Plaintiff by reversing the Court of Appeals’ decision and upholding the trial court’s verdict. Advocate Capital, Inc. is honored to partner with our friends at Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC, and many other national firms as they continue to fight for their clients’ rights and all of ours.
Susan Greene
Executive Client Manager
