CVN screenshot of cardiologist Dr. Scott Woodfield testifying as an expert witness for the defense
Columbia, SC - A South Carolina state court jury returned a defense verdict Friday in a lawsuit filed by a man alleging that delays in getting him into a cardiac catheterization lab caused him to suffer a serious heart attack, and the full trial was recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
The Richland County jury delivered their verdict after hearing closing arguments on Thursday. Plaintiff Michael Scott Rowland accused staff at Palmetto Health Heart Hospital of not acting on urgent referral instructions from another hospital to promptly get him into a catheterization lab after suffering an initial infarction, but defense attorneys successfully argued the specific type of heart attack Rowland experienced required a different standard of care.
The full trial, which began on April 7, is available for unlimited on-demand viewing with a subscription to CVN’s online trial video library. Not a subscriber? Sign up today for a monthly or annual account that provides access to hundreds of trials featuring many of the top plaintiff and defense attorneys from throughout the United States.
Rowland collapsed in the break room of a military base in 2020 and was revived by colleagues who performed CPR. Emergency staff at a local hospital determined he’d suffered and heart attack and transferred him to Palmetto Health Heart Hospital with instructions he needed cardiac catheterization “sooner rather than later.”
Doctors at the second hospital instead ordered a battery of additional tests upon Rowland’s arrival, and shortly afterwards he suffered a second massive heart attack. His attorneys argued to jurors that immediate catheterization would have prevented the second infarction and the lengthy hospital stay and recovery it entailed, however hospital attorneys insisted that for patients with “non-ST elevated” EKG readings like Rowland’s the top priority is preserving brain function before clearing a blockage.
Attorney D. Gary Lovell, Jr. of Copeland Stair Valz and Lovell LLP, who represented the hospital, told CVN after the trial that the majority of Rowland’s injuries were ultimately attributable to the resuscitation and care he received for his first heart attack prior to the transfer.
“The defense presented evidence that the second cardiac arrest while under my clients’ care was a continuation of the earlier cardiac arrest, and damage to the heart and other vital organs requiring a lengthy hospital stay would not have been prevented by earlier cardiac catheterization,” Lovell explained.
He also revisited a key theme in his opening and closing statements that Rowland’s personal physician failed to recognize the urgency of his worsening heart health and refer him for a cardiac stress test soon enough, which was scheduled for the day after he suffered his first collapse.
“Mr. Rowland’s regular cardiologist, who was not a party to this action at the time of trial, was the sole and proximate cause of the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest at work and one which could have been avoided with earlier preventive care and treatment,” he stated.
Attorney Brink Hinson of HHP Law Group LLC, who represents Rowland, told CVN while he and his client are disappointed in the outcome he appreciates how the court handled the proceedings.
“We commend Judge Kimpson for overseeing and providing a fair trial and thank the jury for their service and attention to the case,” Hinson said.
The trial took place before Judge Milton G. Kimpson in Richland County Circuit Court.
The case is captioned Michael Scott Rowland and Karen Rowland v. Columbia Heart Clinic, P.A.; Stacy H. Graham, M.D.; Leverne M. Prosser, M.D.; and Prisma Health–Midlands, formerly known as Palmetto Health Richland Hospital, doing business as Palmetto Health Heart Hospital, case number 2020-CP-40-02751 in Richland County, South Carolina.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com