AL Jury Awards $20 Million For Medical Wrongful Death

After a nine day trial and one hour and 20 minutes of deliberation, an Alabama jury found anesthesiologist Dr. Randall Boudreaux and nurse Don Ortego liable for the death of Paulett Pettaway Hall who choked on her own bile.

In 2006, Paulett, who was a 32 year old and mother of two, went to Springhill Memorial Hospital for exploratory gastrointestinal surgery. The jury found that the anesthesiologists failed to follow national standards that require them to perform certain evaluation before surgery to ensure the safety of the patients. In Paulett's case, Dr. Boudreaux used a routine induction despite the fact that she was a high risk for pulmonary aspiration due to a record of gastrointestinal problems, nausea, vomiting, weight problems, and had severe abdominal pain.

All of this was noted in her medical records, but Dr. Boudreaux and his nurse Ortego did not review Paulett's medical file nor did a physical examination before the surgery. Medical experts testified that if the medical staff reviewed the patient's file they would have been adware of Paulett's risks to a standard induction and should have done proper aspiration risk precautions.

The jury awarded Paulett's family with $20 million for their lost last December.

If you or someone you know was a victim of medical malpractice, contact the Alabama Personal Injury Attorneys of PDKH Law. For more than 20 years, they have been protecting the rights of victims throughout Alabama.

Teenage Girls Die From New Year's Crash

For two Alabama families, the New Year began with sorrow after receiving news that their teenage daughters died due to a fatal auto accident on Saturday, January 2, 2010.

According to State Troopers, Sarah Denise McGuff, 19, and only child Brittany Lea Gates, 18, were in a Ford Mustang on Ala. 188 towards Grand Bay when the car left the road, struck the culvert and hit a pecan tree around 2:40 a.m. Sarah, who was the passenger in the car, died at the scene of the accident. Brittany was taken to the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile where she too died.

The cause of the accident has yet to be determined by State Troopers, though it was noted that before the accident occurred, it did rain in the area. According to James Gates, Brittany Gate’s Father, "It could have been anything, only the two of them know for sure what happened."

If you or someone you know was injured in auto accident in Alabama, contact the personal injury attorneys of PDKH Law. We understand the impact that a car accident can have on someone’s life. That is why we will help you step by step through this difficult time and get you the compensation you need.