A jury recently returned a $50 million verdict in favor of the family of Dan Haas, who died after being sent home from the hospital despite a serious heart blockage.
In December 2020, Haas began experiencing severe pain between his shoulder blades along with shortness of breath. After reporting his symptoms to his cardiologist on Christmas Day, he was advised to rest and come in for testing the following Monday.
When Haas visited Cardiology Associates on December 28, his testing revealed abnormal cardiac stress results. Two days later, a heart catheterization showed a significant and potentially life-threatening blockage. Despite those findings, Haas was discharged from the hospital and instructed to begin blood-thinning medication only after a separate elective surgery scheduled for the following week.
Haas died later that night in his sleep beside his wife.
During the 13-day trial, Plaintiffs argued that standard treatment would have required hospital admission and immediate blood thinners. According to testimony presented in court, that treatment would have given Haas a greater than 99% chance of survival.
Attorneys Skip Finkbohner, Lucy Tufts, Dave Wirtes, and Carmen Chambers of Cunningham Bounds represented the Haas family at trial, arguing that the care provided failed to meet the accepted medical standards.
Following the verdict, Tufts noted that the family had spent years seeking accountability about what happened. Finkbohner added that the case went to trial after efforts to resolve the matter beforehand were unsuccessful.
The verdict brings closure to more than five years of litigation for the Haas family.