Ashley Irvin, by and through Dave Irvin and Kim Irvin v. Lindall Smith, M.D.

Medical Malpractice - Negligence - Plaintiffs, a twelve-year-old child, Ashley Irvin, and her parents, claimed that the defendant, Dr. Lindall Smith, was negligent in failing to properly diagnose and treat the girl for ventricular peritoneal shunt ("VP shunt"). Previous X-rays by another doctor had incorrectly been reported as normal. Ashley's condition continued to worsen thereafter and she was air lifted as an emergency to Dr. Smith to check for shunt malfunction. Defendant relied on the X-ray report as normal without looking at the X-rays, and scheduled testing for the next day. Ashley suffered a cerbral herniation resulting in severe retardation and quadriplegia. Plaintiff's alleged that Dr. Smith should have ordered testing immediately and not have waited until the next day. Defendant asserted that he had no reason to know that the X-ray report was erroneous, and thus, it was the original physician who was negligent. Plaintiffs sought $26,000,000.00 in future medical expenses and $700,000.00 in future lost income.

Defendant's Verdict - The jury found that the defendant was not negligent.

Unknown

Unknown

The above reported case was a retrial of litigation resulting in a hung jury. Plaintiff settled with the hospital, Wesley Medical Center before the retrial. Reported by C.H.