Court dismisses failure-to-administer t-PA claim against ER doctor
The Plaintiff sued Dr. Carl Palffy and his E.R. practice for failing to administer t-PA [a plasminogen activator] to him in the E.R. at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac. He had been admitted with a stroke and suffered an acute infarct the following day, rendering him a hemiplegiac. The Plaintiff offered an expert witness who claimed that the standard of care included the administration of t-PA, however, the Defendant offered a different expert who claimed that administering t-PA was not the standard of care at the time.
The trial court dismissed the Plaintiff's expert's reliance on the National Institute of Neruological Disorders and Strokes ("NINDS") study showing that t-PA can reverse the molecular biology of a stroke, and instead found persuasive several medical articles questioning the use of t-PA. On that basis, it excluded the Plaintiff's expert testimony and dismissed his claim of malpractice. The Plaintiff argued that the judge improperly weighed the contradictory testimony of the two experts, which is a function for the jury, however, the Court of Appeals disagreed and upheld the dismissal.