JURY SIDES WITH MOTHER OF TEEN WHO DIED IN SURGERY
Jun 24, 2003
The Associated Press
6/24/2003, 10:13 a.m. CT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- A jury awarded $14.5 million to the mother of
a teenager who died after elective surgery to correct an overbite.
The two-week trial ended Monday with jurors deciding in favor of Johnnie
Timmons, whose 17-year-old daughter Brandi never woke up after undergoing
the routine procedure at Baptist East Medical Center in 1998.
Timmons filed a wrongful death suit against anesthesiologist Dr. William
Ware, nurse Lil Hayes and Anesthesiology and Pain Management of Montgomery.
Ware was a partner in the medical group, which has since disbanded.
One of Timmons' attorneys, Greg Breedlove of Mobile, said the size
of the verdict "is a reflection of the wrongdoing in this case."
Randy Sellers, an attorney for Ware and Hayes, said his clients likely
will appeal.
"This process is not completed," Sellers said. "We feel
quite strongly that the tragic outcome was not the fault of William Ware
or Lil Hayes. They are exceedingly fine people and outstanding professionals."
Timmons' lawyers told jurors the anesthesiology team made critical
errors, including giving the patient too strong a dose of narcotics and
withdrawing a breathing tube before she could breathe on her own.
Once they realized the mistake, the medical team was slow to reinsert
the breathing tube and gave Brandi the wrong medicine to help her recover,
the lawyers said.
The team also altered medical records in the case to cover up their mistakes,
the lawyers said.
Ware and Hayes declined comment, as did Timmons.
Brandi was a senior at Montgomery's Sidney Lanier High School, where
she was a cheerleader and member of an accelerated academic program.
An academic scholarship is now awarded annually in her honor, said attorney
Julian McPhillips, who created the scholarship. Brandi was a classmate
and friend of McPhillips' daughter Grace.
"That young lady was just beloved by everyone," McPhillips said.