Results
Raul Romaguera of Romaguera Law Group P.A. obtained a defense verdict for an emergency room nurse in a medical malpractice case involving a severe brain injury to a nine year old child. The child was brought into the emergency room of a community hospital suffering from severe diabetic ketoacidosis. While awaiting transport to a pediatric intensive care hospital, she suffered a stroke which left her permanently severely disabled. Plaintiffs, which included the parents of the child, alleged that the emergency room nurse over-hydrated the child in violation of doctor’s orders, failed to obtain repeat blood sugars and failed to report significant neurologic changes in the child, all of which led to cerebral edema and the infarct.
The defense countered Plaintiffs claims by offering expert testimony that the child was not overly hydrated and that the scientific evidence does not show that hydration plays any role whatsoever in cerebral edema. The defense also presented testimony and evidence that an emergency room nurse cannot, without a physician’s order or a standing order, order repeat blood sugars. Finally, Plaintiffs claim that the nurse failed to report significant neurological changes in the child were countered by noting that the changes the child was having, if any, were extremely subtle in nature, and that her pediatrician testified that he was at bedside throughout most of the evening and did not note any changes himself.
In the trial, which took three and a half weeks and included expert testimony of no less than twelve defense and plaintiff experts, the Indian River County jury deliberated for twelve hours before returning a defense verdict. The Plaintiff sought over $65,000,000.00 in damages which included a comprehensive life care plan for the child.
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Romaguera Law Group represented a Resident at an Assisted Living Facility who received negligent care during in-patient rehabilitation, including suffering multiple falls and not receiving prescribed pain medications or therapies as prescribed. In the end, we negotiated a successful settlement for our client.
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Romaguera Law Group defended a nursing company who was assigned to provide physical therapy services to a Plaintiff post-knee surgery (for post-open reduction and internal fixation surgery). The Plaintiff alleged negligent care by the therapist, however ultimately did not suffer any resulting physical limitations. Plaintiff initially demanded $300,000, but after 4 years in litigation, a settlement of $67,500 was achieved.
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Romaguera Law Group obtains $75,000 for injured client. Our client tripped and fell on a dangerous condition at a federal government building. Romaguera Law Group discovered that the property on which our client fell was actually owned by a private company, and leased to the federal government. Romaguera Law Group’s smart strategies led us to the lease agreement, where we were able to show that the private company was responsible for the dangerous condition which led to our client’s injuries. The property owner agreed to pay our client $75,000 in a settlement only a few days before trial, which more than covered all of our client’s medical bills and expenses.
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Raul Romaguera of Romaguera Law Group P.A. obtained a defense verdict for an infusion company in a medical malpractice/wrongful death case. The Plaintiff was the husband of the 61-year-old decedent, who developed anaphylaxis during the administration of intravenous antibiotic therapy and fell into respiratory arrest. The Plaintiff alleged that the infusion company failed to have an anaphylaxis kit available during the administration of the medications that had been ordered. The defense of the case centered on the fact that the decedent's infectious diseases physician did not order an anaphylaxis kit and that the decedent had no known drug allergies after a long history of being administered multiple, similar antibiotics over many years without any allergic reactions. The defense also countered that the prevailing standard of care did not require that an anaphylaxis kit be present; if one was required, it was incumbent on her prescribing physician who ordered the medications to also order the kit. The infusion agency could not obtain the anaphylaxis kit without a physicians’ order. The defense did not allege or present any evidence that the prescribing physician fell below the standard of care. The Plaintiff asked for $1,800,000.00.
After eight days of trial in the Charlotte County Courthouse in Punta Gorda, Florida, and 80 minutes of deliberations, the jury returned a unanimous verdict for the defense.
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Romaguera Law Group obtains $30,000 for injured client. Our client suffered serious pelvic injuries when she leapt from a pond’s rope swing. The business located on that property agreed to pay our client $30,000 in a settlement, which covered all of our client’s medical bills.
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Raul Romaguera of Romaguera Law Group P.A. obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a long term care facility in Palm Beach County, Florida. The Plaintiff was the husband of a resident in a skilled nursing facility who had numerous unexplained bruises on her body and suffered a severe burn when she spilled a bowl of soup on herself. The resident suffered from end stage Alzheimer’s disease and was extremely combative with the staff who was trying to provide care.
After two weeks of testimony, including several experts, a Palm Beach County jury rejected Plaintiff’s request that the jury award $1,000,000.00 in total damages.
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We recently defended a case for a Physical Therapist and a company where it was alleged a healthcare instructor injured a student during the course of providing a seminar. This hands-on seminar instructed students on how to perform the procedure which she alleged caused her injury. The case was filed outside the applicable statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims. The claimant tried to allege that her claim was grounded in simple negligence and not medical malpractice since the student was not the healthcare provider’s patient. We filed an extensive motion to strike as a sham pleading. Before the hearing date, we were approached with a very nominal settlement demand and a settlement was reached. Prior to the settlement, the individual Physical Therapist was dismissed, individually, from the lawsuit.
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Raul Romaguera of Romaguera Law Group, P.A. recently obtained a defense verdict for one of its clients in a negligence case. Plaintiff was an elderly woman who suffered from left sided weakness following a cerebral vascular accident. After the CVA, she required home health aides to provide for activities of daily living, including transfers and ambulation. One day while on a walk, Plaintiff became fatigued and requested the Defendant, her home health aide, provide a chair for her so she could sit down. According to Plaintiff, the home health aide was negligent because when she obtained the chair for her, the Defendant was talking on a cell phone, not paying attention and failed to properly guide Plaintiff to the chair, which resulted in her falling to the floor. The Defendant denied the allegations and indicated that she had properly guided her into the chair and was instructed by Plaintiff to go retrieve her wheelchair. The Defendant claims she left Plaintiff seated in the chair and turned and began walking away as instructed to go retrieve the wheelchair. Within a few steps, she heard Plaintiff yell out her name only to turn around and see the Plaintiff on the floor. Plaintiff suffered a fractured hip which eventually required a total hip replacement and had to be moved into an assisted living facility where she remains.
The defense of the case centered on the fact that Plaintiff had a very faulty memory due to her advanced age and cerebral insults. The case was complicated by the fact the home health aide had difficulty communicating in English as it was not her first language. Plaintiff attempted to paint the Defendant as an incompetent aide who was careless and unfit to provide Plaintiff with services. The Defendant countered Plaintiff’s allegations by pointing out that the Defendant had provided care for the Plaintiff for both long before and long after the incident giving rise to this lawsuit. The Plaintiff asked the jury for $750,000.00.
The jury deliberated for 37 minutes before returning a defense verdict after a three day trial in the Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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Romaguera Law Group defended an Emergency Room Physician in a complex medical malpractice case involving catastrophic injuries. With 13 named defendants and more than 50 depositions, after more than 3 years in litigation, our firm won at non-binding arbitration, with the case settling shortly thereafter.
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Romaguera Law Group represented the Plaintiff in a slip and fall accident at a public shopping center while walking across the cross-walk path. The path had been painted without the required slip-resistant substance causing it to be unreasonably dangerous and not complying with the local building code. This negligence resulted in the Plaintiff’s numerous personal injuries. Multiple defendants and the diligence of Romaguera Law Group resulted in a successful confidential settlement for this client against a large commercial landlord.
