Brandon, Florida Primary Care Doctor, Represented by Gordon Lea, Esq. of Lubell Rosen, Obtains Complete Defense Verdict in Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Case

CORAL GABLES, Fla., Nov. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gordon Lea, Esq., a partner of the preeminent law firm Lubell Rosen, recently obtained a complete defense verdict and final judgment in favor of the defendants, Stephen D. Parks, M.D., Apollo Beach Family Practice, Inc., n/k/a Brandon Area Primary Care, P.A., and Brandon Area Primary Care, P.A. After a seven-day trial, the jury ruled in favor of the defendants after 2½ hours of deliberation.

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The plaintiff was represented by Joseph D. Magri, Esq. of Merkle Magri & Meythaler in Tampa and Peter A. Sartes of the Law Offices of Tragos & Sartes in Clearwater. The case number is 11-CA-011921. The presiding judge was the Honorable Elizabeth G. Rice of the Circuit Court of the 13th Judicial Circuit in and for Hillsborough County, Florida.

Plaintiff Marie Grenchik sought over $600,000 in damages, costs and other such relief, claiming that Dr. Parks failed to follow-up on an X-ray report he received, concerning chest X-rays taken on her husband Phillip Grenchik, on or about Oct. 19, 2007, that indicated a prominence of the descending aorta. The plaintiff alleged that this was a significant finding that justified further diagnostic evaluation, including a CT scan of the chest. The plaintiff further alleged that Mr. Grenchik died from cardiac tamponade, due to intrapericardial hemorrhage secondary to a dissecting aortic arch and descending aorta with extension into the pericardium, left carotid artery, left pulmonary artery, and mediastinal soft tissues, as a direct result of Dr. Parks' negligence in failing to properly follow-up on the X-ray finding.

The deceased was a longtime patient of Dr. Parks, who referred him to a nephrologist, Dr. Cristina Balsera, for treatment of his renal disease. Dr. Balsera eventually referred Mr. Grenchik to a kidney transplant team called Lifelink, which is now part of Tampa General Hospital. In order to be approved for a kidney transplant, certain medical tests had to completed such as an EKG, chest X-rays, colonoscopy, etc. Dr. Parks testified that the deceased asked him to rewrite the prescriptions from Lifelink for these tests, so that they could be covered under his insurance. By writing those prescriptions, the plaintiff argued that Dr. Parks had a duty to follow-up on all of those tests, since he was Mr. Grenchik's primary care physician, even though the results of all of those tests were received by the Lifelink physicians.

Although the plaintiff's counsel brought in medical experts to say that Dr. Parks was the "hub of the wheel" in charge of Mr. Grenchik's care and treatment, and that the nephrologist and members of the Lifelink Transplant Evaluation Committee were just the "spokes of that wheel," Lea was able to convince the jury otherwise. He was able to demonstrate to the jury that it was just beyond common sense that the physicians at Lifelink (a world-class transplant team), would be relying on Dr. Parks to do follow-ups on the tests they ordered, when they themselves didn't order any further testing on the basis of that X-ray report.

"This case exemplifies that it is imperative for doctors to have experienced, knowledgeable attorneys such as Mr. Lea, who have the expertise in medical malpractice cases to understand and explain the facts to a jury," said Mark L. Rosen, Esq., partner at Lubell Rosen.

Lea is a highly-skilled trial lawyer with well over 100 jury trials to verdict. He focuses on medical malpractice defense of doctors, nurse, hospitals, and clinics. For more information about Lea, visit www.lubellrosen.com/attorneys/gordon-lea/.

About Lubell Rosen
Lubell Rosen is a law firm dedicated to providing full service representation as well as defending and protecting entrepreneurs and business owners, physicians, healthcare professionals and businesses in the healthcare industry. The firm has been named a U.S. Top Ranked Law Firm by FORTUNE Money Magazine. Only the finest attorneys are invited to join the practice. Lubell Rosen's headquarters are located at 200 S. Andrews Ave., Suite 900, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.  To reach Lubell Rosen's headquarters, call 954-880-9500. The firm also has offices in Coral Gables, Florida; Syosset, New York; Upper Saddle River, New Jersey; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.lubellrosen.com.

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