Law360 Reporter Carolina Bolado spoke with Ratzan Weissman & Boldt’s Founding Partner, Stuart Ratzan, to discuss the favorable verdict of $45 million against Orlando Health in a medical malpractice case involving the death of 55-year-old heart attack patient, James Sada.
After a 2.5-week trial, a Florida jury found the healthcare company acted with reckless disregard when treating Mr. Sada who died while waiting for a transfer to another Orlando Health facility by helicopter despite a competing hospital being available a few miles away.
Stuart Ratzan, who represents the Sada family, told Law360 that rather than send Sada to a competitor hospital a few miles down the road that had a cardiac catheterization unit that could treat him, Orlando Health opted to transfer him by helicopter to its own affiliated ORMC, wasting more than an hour in the process.
"This isn't just a hospital or a doctor having a bad day," Ratzan said. "They developed a system to attract and keep heart attack patients within their network.
Read the full article here.
Additional Press Coverage
- Daily Business Review: $45M Florida Verdict: 'This Case Is About the Corporatization of Healthcare'
- Orlando Sentinel: Jury rules Orlando Health must pay $45 million after Seminole man’s death
- Cardiovascular Business: Family of heart patient who died awarded $45M after suing health system for negligence
- Florida Record: Jury awards family $45M after heart attack patient dies following delay in treatment
- Expert Institute: $45M Verdict Against Orlando Health Over Fatal Heart Attack Transfer Delay
- Yahoo News: Jury rules Orlando Health must pay $45 million after Seminole man’s death
- Becker’s Hospital Review: Florida system to pay $45M after heart patient death