Camp, et al. v. EMSA Ltd., et al.

Medical malpractice - 79-year-old Alice Camp was admitted to the emergency room at Doctor's Memorial Hospital in Augusta on the evening of July 23, 1994. Camp complained of mid-sternal chest pain that radiated to her shoulders and neck, a severe headache, vomiting, diarrhea, and sweating. She advised the emergency room nurse that the symptoms began when she sneezed while working in the garden earlier that day. Concerned that Camp might be suffering a heart attack, Dr. Ramirez, an emergency room physician, ordered various tests which ruled out this diagnosis. Dr. Ramirez also performed a neurological examination which did not reveal a neurological problem. Thereafter, Dr. Ramirez ordered x-rays of Camp's sinuses and treated her for sinusitis. Camp asked to go home, and she was dismissed from the hospital. Early the next morning, Camp died from a cerebral hemorrhage. At trial, the Camps argued that Dr. Ramirez failed to evaluate Camp for a cerebral aneurysm and that the undiagnosed aneurysm ultimately caused her death.

The jury returned a verdict for the defendants.

Dr. Peter Collis and Dr. Brian Frist.

Dr. Alfred Gervin, Dr. Stephen Vogel and Dr. Wayne Beveridge.

Camp appealed. The Court of Appeals of Georgia affirmed the trial court. See: 518 S.E.2d 482 (Ga. App. 1999). The date shown above is the date of the appellate court decision and not the trial date. Reported by JAB.