Date: 08-15-2007

Case Style: Paul Montgomery, et aux. v. Dr. Mark McCoy and Cooper Clinic

Case Number: Unknown

Judge: James O. Cox

Court: Circuit Court, Sebastian County, Arkansas

Plaintiff's Attorney:

Bobby McDaniel, Jonesboro, Arkansas

Defendant's Attorney: Unknown

Description:

Paul Montgomery, et aux. sued Dr. Mark McCoy and Cooper Clinic on a medical negligence theory claiming that Dr. McCoy acted below the standard of care in caring for and treating him and that Dr. McCoy's malpractice directly harmed him. McCoy performed heart bypass surgery on Montgomery in June 1998, then performed femoral bypass surgery on both of his legs about two months later. Montgomery testified that after the operations he repeatedly had problems with his right leg, which was eventually amputated.

Montgomery was referred to McCoy by his family physician after complaining of calf pain. McCoy saw Montgomery on June 15, 1998, and diagnosed Montgomery as having peripheral vascular disease. On June 25, 1998, Dr. Timothy A. Waack, a cardiologist, performed a Persantine nuclear stress test on Montgomery to evaluate the severity of his known coronary artery disease. Waack then scheduled Montgomery for a heart catheterization on June 29, 1998, to be performed by Dr. Riley Foreman. After the catheterization, Foreman believed that there was blockage in the left main artery and blockage of the right coronary artery. On June 30, 1998, McCoy performed coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. On August 17, 1998, Waack ordered cardiac rehabilitation. On August 25, 1998, McCoy performed a femoral-popliteal bypass of the superficial femoral artery on each leg. On October 6, 1998, Montgomery complained of pain in the right leg. An ultrasound located a blood clot, and Dr. Drohlsagen administered clot-busting medication. On November 6, 1998, Montgomery again complained of right leg pain and McCoy performed a thrombectomy to remove the blood clot. On November 22, 1998, Dr. Jane McKinnon identified a blood clot in the left graft. Following an attempt to resolve with medication alone, McKinnon surgically revised the left graft.

Following this surgery, Montgomery traveled to the Texas Heart Institute to see Dr. George Reul. Reul found that the right graft was too long, and had "kinked," and on May 5, 1999, he revised the graft. Approximately a year later, an angiogram revealed a right anastomotic aneurysm. On September 8, 2000, Montgomery had a bypass from the aorta to the femoral artery. Reul performed thrombectomies on May 12, 2001, and December 16, 2002. On March 10, 2003, Reul amputated Montgomery's right leg above the knee.

On June 29, 2000, Montgomery, and his wife, Carolyn Montgomery, filed suit, claiming medical malpractice in the heart and leg treatment against McCoy, Foreman, Waack, Cooper Clinic, P.A., and St. Edward Mercy Medical Center. On February 7, 2003, the court entered an order granting Montgomery's motion for voluntary non-suit as to the defendants, Foreman, Waack, and Cooper Clinic. On August 21, 2003, the court entered an order granting Montgomery's motion for voluntary nonsuit as to the defendants, McCoy and St. Edward Mercy Medical Center.

On November 25, 2003, the Montgomerys refiled the action, relying on Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-126 (1987). McCoy filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the Montgomerys could not benefit from § 16-56-126. On April 15, 2004, the court denied McCoy's motion to dismiss and for summary judgment. On February 27, 2006, the Montgomerys amended their complaint to add a claim of punitive damages. McCoy's motions to strike and for a continuance were both denied.

A jury trial was held March 13, 2006 through March 24, 2006. At the conclusion of the evidence, the jury returned a verdict for the Montgomerys on the question of the leg surgery, awarding damages that totaled $2,800,000 in actual damages, $200,000 in loss of consortium damages to Mrs. Montgomery, and an additional $500,000 in punitive damages. The trial court entered judgment pursuant to Rule 54(b) of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, severing St. Edward Mercy Medical Center from this case. On April 19, 2006, McCoy filed a timely notice of appeal. A notice of cross-appeal was filed by the Montgomerys on May 1, 2006, but it has been abandoned on appeal. On November 11, 2006, McCoy petitioned this court for a writ of certiorari to complete the record. We granted his petition on November 16, 2006. McCoy appealed.

McCoy denied that the care provided by him fell below the standard of care.

Outcome: Plaintiffs' verdict for $3 million in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages. Affirmed on appeal.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments:

Editor's note: According to McDaniel, this may be the largest plaintiff's verdict against a doctor in Sebastian County and is probably the only case in which punitive damages were awarded.