dollar;217 Million Awarded Fla. Stroke Victim Treated for Sinusitis

A Florida jury has awarded a 50-year-old Tampa man $216.8 million in compensatory and punitive damages after he suffered paralysis and brain damage because emergency room staff treated him for sinusitis instead of a stroke.

The Hillsborough County Circuit Court jury award is the largest medical malpractice verdict in state history and the third-largest U.S. malpractice award ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

The verdict will not be subject to the sliding scale of caps on noneconomic malpractice damages created by the Florida Legislature because the lawsuit was filed before the cap law was passed in 2003.

The defendants have said they will appeal.

Allan Navarro, who once played professional basketball in his native Philippines, claims he was left a quadriplegic after physician's assistant Mark Herranz and Dr. Michael Austin failed to realize he was suffering a stroke when he went to the emergency room of Tampa's University Community Hospital-Carrollwood.

His wife, Marilyn, filed a medical negligence action on behalf of Navarro, herself and their son against University Community Hospital Inc., Herranz, Austin and his practice, Franklin, Favata & Hulls M.D.

The suit also named Carrollwood Emergency Physicians, which was contracted by the hospital to run the emergency department.

The hospital had been dropped from the case by the time it went to trial.

The suit alleged that the defendants failed to diagnose and recognize the symptoms of an evolving stroke, failed to perform an adequate neurological examination, and failed to obtain a consult from a neurologist.

Their actions caused Navarro to suffer paralysis, brain injury and other catastrophic injuries, the plaintiffs said.

According to court records, Navarro went to the UCH-Carrollwood emergency room Aug. 9, 2000, complaining of nausea, headache, dizziness, confusion and double vision.

Navarro claimed that when he saw Herranz and Austin, he told them of the sudden onset of a headache earlier that day and that he felt a "pop" in his head.

He also advised them he had a personal history of hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol and a family history of stroke, the complaint said.

Following two CT scans of Navarro's brain, Austin diagnosed him with sinusitis and a sinus headache, prescribed Vicodin for the pain and an antibiotic for the supposed sinus infection, and sent him home.

Early the next morning Navarro awoke with a severe headache, slurred speech and other classic stroke symptoms.

He was taken to UCH-Carrollwood emergency room, but he was not diagnosed or treated for stroke until he was transferred to another hospital that afternoon, the suit alleged. By then, he was already paralyzed and had suffered major brain damage.

The plaintiffs presented evidence at trial that Carrollwood hired Herranz to take patient histories for the on-duty ER physicians even though he had failed his state licensing test four times.

Herranz was not a licensed physician's assistant when he performed the initial physical examination of Navarro, according to the trial testimony.

Following the three-week trial the six-member jury awarded the plaintiffs $116.7 million in compensatory damages Sept. 29.

The award included $15.6 million to Navarro for past and future medical bills, $616,000 for past and future lost wages, and $46.5 million for past and future pain and suffering.

The jury awarded $52.5 million to Marilyn Navarro for loss of consortium and $1.5 million to the son for the loss of his father's companionship and society.

Immediately following the announcement of the compensatory damages award, defendants Austin's medical practice and Carrollwood filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, which temporarily halted the trial.

Counsel for the defendants told the Bankruptcy Court the two companies had been disbanded, had no employees and had assets of less than $100,000.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Glenn set aside the defendants' petitions with regard to the Circuit Court action so the jury could complete its work.

After reconvening two days later, the jury returned with an award of $100.1 million in punitive damages, for a total verdict of $216.8 million for the plaintiffs. The court entered final judgment affirming the award Oct. 4.

The jury found the remaining four defendants negligent. It assigned Herranz, who died prior to trial, and Austin each 25 percent comparative negligence and held Austin's practice and Carrollwood accountable for the remaining 50 percent.

The Navarros have said they will donate any punitive damages recovered to charities dealing with spinal cord and brain injuries.