LOS ANGELES (August 31, 2023) – Nationwide civil litigation and insurance defense firm Tyson & Mendes LLP recently obtained the mid-trial non-suit in a million-dollar wrongful death medical malpractice lawsuit in favor of three Orange County-area healthcare clients.
The case, was held in Los Angeles Superior Court, and marked a significant defense win for Tyson & Mendes when Judge Kevin Brazile granted a motion for nonsuit as to all three defendants, resulting in the case’s dismissal even before the conclusion of evidence. Margaret Holm, partner at the Orange County, San Diego and Los Angeles offices and Chair of the firmwide Healthcare practice at Tyson & Mendes, and Kevin Metros, Tyson & Mendes senior counsel, successfully argued the plaintiffs’ failure to establish negligence as to the doctor defendant and causation as to the remaining two defendants warranted nonsuit and dismissal.
The plaintiffs were the children of a 55-year-old man who suffered a fatal cardiac event while driving. Prior to his death, the plaintiffs’ father was under the care of the defendants, a doctor, a physician assistant, and their medical group. The lawsuit asserted that had a referral to a cardiologist been given to the decedent, tests would have revealed underlying heart disease and that the presumed medical diagnosis would have led to the placement of a life-saving stent.
According to Holm, the defense employed several core Tyson & Mendes defense methods during trial, including personalizing the defendants – who were all present daily in the courtroom – accepting responsibility and using common sense. Ultimately, these methods led to a favorable conclusion to the case for the defense.
“The death of a parent is always heartbreaking. This case was a tragic one and our clients certainly felt for the plaintiffs. Ultimately, however, Judge Brazile decided there was not enough evidence to continue a trial,” said Holm. “The plaintiffs did admit that the decedent was human and therefore at least partly at fault here. As so many of us do, he had pre-existing conditions and did not always abide by the advice of his doctors. He did ask for a referral to an out-of-network cardiologist and the physician assistant provided a business card with that doctor’s information. Unfortunately, he did not see that doctor before he passed. We send our deepest condolences, again, to his family. This story certainly reminds us all to pursue quality preventative healthcare.”
Serving 20 states nationwide, Tyson & Mendes is one of the fastest growing civil defense firms in the U.S. The firm has established itself as a leader in driving down damages awards and reducing the likelihood of Nuclear Verdicts® – often defined as jury awards in excess of $10 million. Using a unique set of proven defense methods, the firm saved clients more than $1.07 billion in 2022.
For more information and to view career opportunities, visit tysonmendes.com.
About Tyson & Mendes LLP
Tyson & Mendes LLP is a nationwide, AV-rated litigation and trial firm specializing in insurance defense and protecting its clients from Nuclear Verdicts®. Robert Tyson and Patrick Mendes founded the firm in 2002 to defend corporations, insurance companies, and their clients in civil litigation matters. The firm has experienced tremendous growth in the past two decades, with offices across the U.S. serving clients in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The firm is most widely recognized for winning the landmark Howell v. Hamilton Meats California Supreme Court case, which forever changed the state’s litigation landscape by significantly impacting the damages a plaintiff may recover. In 2022, the firm launched the Nuclear Verdicts Defense Institute, the only trial academy that teaches defense attorneys how to stop Nuclear Verdicts®. Robert Tyson is also the author of the Amazon Bestseller Nuclear Verdicts®: Defending Justice for All, the first (and only) playbook for the defense on how to avoid runaway jury verdicts.
For more information, visit www.tysonmendes.com.