Pomatto and Denning Obtain Defense Verdict for Pediatrician

may 6, 2015

Doug Pomatto and Mike Denning recently secured a defense verdict for a pediatrician following an eight-day medical malpractice jury trial in DeKalb County. In the case, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant doctor failed to diagnose undescended testicles in their child. When their child was born, a non-party pediatrician did an assessment of the baby and found bilateral undescended testicles. The defendant pediatrician, however, assessed the baby later that day and found the testicles within normal limits. The defendant pediatrician went on to care for the child until the child was 15 months old. When the child was four-years old a pediatric surgeon noted that the child's left testicle was undescended in the inguinal canal and that the child's right testicle was undescended in the abdomen. Following two surgeries to try to correct the condition, the surgeon ultimately removed an atrophic right testicle. Plaintiffs claimed that the condition of undescended testicles was present throughout the child's life and misdiagnosed by the defendant pediatrician. The Heyl Royster attorneys presented a case that the child suffered from a rare but clinically significant condition known as ascending testicles, in which previously descended testicles can ascend over time. Plaintiff's claimed damages included loss of a testicle, loss of a normal life and emotional distress, and claims of infertility in adulthood. The plaintiffs asked for $2 million in damages but the jury returned a verdict in favor of the pediatrician in less than 90 minutes.

Heyl Royster regularly advises practices and hospitals in negotiating contractual terms, and regularly represents physicians accused of medical negligence. Please contact our office if you are in need of these services or would like additional information.