Date: 05-14-2013

Case Style: Roy Lee McCaslin III v. Darnell Blackmon, M.D.

Case Number: CJ-2009-4421

Judge: Linda G. Morrissey

Court: District Court, Tulsa County, Oklahoma

Plaintiff's Attorney: Mark Edwards and Trevor Furlong for Estte of Christie Smith McCaslin and and Roy Lee McCaslin III

Defendant's Attorney: Sean H. McKee and Dan W. Ernst for Darnell Blackmon, M.D.

Teresa Meinders Burkett, Kathryn Suzanne Burnett and George W. Dahnke for Corvel Corporation

Description: Roy Lee McCaslin, III, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Christie Smith McCaslin sued Darnell Blackmon, M.D., Corvel Corporation and Compsource Oklahoma on medical negligence (medical malpractice) and negligence theories and wrongful death theories.

The specifics of the claims made by the Plaintiff are not available.

Defendant generally denied all of the allegations made by the Plaintiff.

Darrell Blackmon is an orthopedic surgeon associated with Orthopaedic Surgery of Tulsa. CorVel Corporation is a provider of worker's compensation solutions to employers.

The following facts were recited in a brief filed on behalf of Dr. Blackmon:

Christie Smith injured her right ankle on July 19, 2007, while working in a group home. She was initially treated in the emergency room of a hospital in Poteau, Oklahoma. She saw Defendant Dr. Blackmon for the first time on July 26, 2007 in Tulsa. Dr. Blackmon is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Blackmon diagnosed her with a grade III ankle sprain, and treated her initially with a non-weight-bearing short leg cast. The cast was removed by Dr. Blackman at the patient’s second visit so that an MRI could be obtained to evaluate the extent and seriousness of her injury. Before Mrs. Smith returned to Dr. Blackmon for her last visit on September 4, 2007, she had unilaterally removed her cast because of ankle swelling and pain. Over a month later, she was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (“CRPS”) by another physician. This suit was initiated thereafter with the essential allegation being that this diagnosis was missed by Dr. Blackmon and that Mrs. Smith should have received treatment for this syndrome at an earlier time.

Mrs. Smith passed away in February of 2010, and her husband Roy Lee McCaslin, III, (as personal representative of the estate of Christie Smith McCaslin) was later substituted as the Plaintiff in this case. Unfortunately, Mr. McCaslin also died unexpectedly in a motor-vehicle accident, and the natural parents of Christie Smith have been substituted as the personal representatives and continue to maintain this lawsuit. The personal representatives assert that Mrs. Smith’s disability and ultimately her death were caused by Dr. Blackmon’s negligence. As more fully shown below, Dr. Blackmon was in no way responsible for Mrs. Smith’s death, and Plaintiffs have presented no evidence that would support such a conclusion.

Outcome: Settled for a confidential sum and dismissed with prejudice.

Plaintiff's Experts: Edgar Ross, M.D.

Defendant's Experts: Dr. Lloyd Saberski, pain management and Dr. David Flesher, orthopedic surgeon

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