By Romines, Weis & Young
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13 Aug, 2020
In March 2013, Anna Branstetter, age 36, presented to the ER in Glasgow, KY with severe abdominal pain. A CT scan indicated a significant ovarian cyst was likely the source of Ms. Branstetter’s pain. The attending physician subsequently ordered 2 doses of morphine, which were administered roughly an hour apart. Despite being given a third dose of morphine, Ms. Branstetter remained in pain and was given a dose of Dilaudid ordered by another physician before falling asleep. Three hours later, she was found unresponsive in her hospital bed and could not be resuscitated. Ms. Branstetter essentially died of an overdose because she was over-medicated and under-monitored. The defense argued that the doctor met the standard of care in ordering Dilaudid and that it was not necessary to monitor Ms. Branstetter’s respiration, forcing the case to go to trial. At trial, Romines, Weis, & Young postured that an otherwise healthy person in their 30s should not die of a injury in the hospital and challenged jurors to send a message to a Kentucky doctors to be more careful and thorough before prescribing Dilaudid. The jury agreed and found fault with the hospital and the doctor who ordered the Dilaudid, returning with a $580,000 verdict.