Professional Negligence Law Reporter

Metts v. Athens Med. Lab., No. 14-CV-002543 (Ohio Ct. Com. Pl. Franklin Cnty. Oct. 10, 2018).

Bradley Metts, 9, was evaluated for severe ear pain by his primary care provider at University Medical Associates. Eight days later, when his condition deteriorated and he developed headache, nausea, vomiting, and photophobia, Metts returned to the clinic, where a nurse practitioner described him as acutely ill. The provider ordered various STAT blood tests, including an erythrocyte sedimentation rate and a C-reactive protein test. Although the lab samples were sent to Athens Medical Laboratory by the mid-afternoon, the results, which were markedly elevated, were not returned for six days. Before Metts’s treating providers informed his mother of the test results, the child woke up in the middle of the night, screaming in pain. He was rushed to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where a CT scan revealed a dangerous brain abscess. Metts received antibiotics and underwent brain surgery, but he suffered postoperative intracranial pressure that resulted in a brainstem herniation. Now 14, Metts suffers from locked-in syndrome and requires 24-hour nursing care. 

Metts sued Athens Medical Laboratory, alleging its delay in reporting the STAT laboratory tests allowed an infection in his mastoid bone to progress into the cerebral space. Had his treating providers timely learned of his high sedimentation rate, Metts argued, he would have been sent to a hospital and received timely and less invasive treatment.

The plaintiff also alleged that University Medical Associates was liable for failing to conduct a proper examination of his ear and follow up on the STAT lab tests when they were not reported back in two hours. Suit against the hospital alleged its negligent postoperative monitoring and response to Metts’s intracranial pressure led to the brainstem herniation.

The plaintiff settled with University Medical Associates and the hospital for undisclosed sums. The jury awarded more than $44.5 million, finding Athens Medical Laboratory 50% at fault. The court denied defense motions for a new trial and for judgment n.o.v. The court also held that the state damages cap did not apply to the award against Athens Laboratory because it was not a medical claim as defined by the statute.

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Gerald Leeseberg, John Markus, and Craig Tuttle, all of Columbus, Ohio.