Attorneys argue to reduce $7.2M settlement
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Attorneys for River Park, which at the time of Barkes? death was owned by HCA, filed a motion for a new trial March 8, which also included a motion to reduce the size of the monetary award.
The suit stemmed from Barkes? death in 2000 of a heart attack shortly after leaving the River Park emergency room. According to the facts alleged in the suit, Barkes went to the emergency room complaining of pain in his left arm and was seen by a nurse practitioner. Barkes, who was 48 at the time, was subsequently released without actually seeing a physician.
The suit maintained the nurse practitioner had no legal right to pronounce a medical diagnosis and that no cardiac tests were performed, despite the fact Barkes was an overweight smoker who had a history of cholesterol problems and a family history of heart disease.
Shortly after leaving the emergency room Barkes suffered a fatal heart attack, leading his family to file suit for wrongful death. At the trial in January, a jury found River Park negligent and awarded the family the multi-million dollar settlement.
The final arguments in the motion for a new trial were heard Friday by Circuit Judge Bart Stanley. Representing the Barkes family was David Randolph Smith and Eddie Schmidt, of the Law Offices of David Randolph Smith and Edmund J. Schmidt, III of Nashville. Appearing for River Park Hospital was Tom Wiseman, C.J. Gideon Jr. and Bryan Essary of Gideon and Wiseman, also of Nashville.
The defense?s primary arguments were that the jury verdict was inconsistent because none of the other parties listed in the initial lawsuit, which included the emergency room supervising physician and several other emergency room personnel, including the nurse practitioner who actually saw Barkes, were found liable, leaving River Park with sole liability for the monetary award. They also argued the plaintiff?s claim that Barkes did not receive adequate standards of care was not valid.
During the trial in January the plaintiff?s attorneys asserted that adequate standards of care should guarantee patients see a physician during an emergency room visit, which did not happen with Mr. Barkes. In their oral arguments River Park?s attorneys maintained many hospitals in the region do not have written policies requiring every patient see a physician.
River Park?s attorneys also maintained the large award was due, in large part, to an appeal to the jury?s sympathies by the plaintiff?s attorneys. They actually presented a quote from the transcript of the trial where Barkes? attorney David Smith stated:
?How you decide this case will be talked about for years. This will be more than the buzz in this courthouse. This will go way beyond Warren County. Your verdict will be heard from one end of this state to the other. And it will impact the operation of hospitals on two issues: on how hospitals deal with their policies, and whether patients that go into the emergency room see a doctor.?
The defense maintained this argument effectively coerced the jury into handing out the multi-million dollar settlement, which was improper, and that the settlement should be reduced.
In his arguments the plaintiff?s attorney, David Smith, maintained their suit was based on sound evidence and that the closing statement to the jury was entirely proper and was not designed to increase the size of the settlement in any way, only to let the jury know they had the power to decide what was an acceptable standard of care in hospitals.
Stanley said he would probably make a decision within a week.