Andrew H. Foulkrod and Eric Lauerman, attorneys in the firm's Harrisburg office, were recently successful in obtaining a defense jury verdict for an emergency medicine physician after six days of trial in a wrongful death case.

It was alleged that signs and symptoms of lower extremity DVT (pain, swelling, discoloration and abnormal temperature), along with a radiology report including proximal venous flow limitation should have led to additional testing to rule out pelvic DVT.  It was further alleged that vital sign abnormalities required at CT to rule out pulmonary embolism.

The jury favored the defense, which stressed that each of the signs and symptoms of DVT had either markedly improved or completely resolved; that previously existing mass effect credibly explained the venous flow limitation; that there was no reasonable evidence of pulmonary embolism; and, that the presentation was most likely related to exacerbation of the patient's chronic PVD.