Malpractice suit verdict falls in favor of St. E’s

By Ed Runyan

The jury found in favor of the hospital 7-to-1.

YOUNGSTOWN — A jury has ruled in favor of St. Elizabeth Health Center in a lawsuit filed by a Warren man who claimed the hospital failed to provide proper care to him during his recovery from open heart surgery.

The suit was filed by Gregory Guesman, who was 55 when he suffered a life-threatening condition called arrhythmia June 1, 2003, while recovering from successful open heart surgery.

A court document and an interview with the attorneys indicated that Guesman’s heart went into an irregular rhythm at about 2:12 a.m. on the day he was scheduled to go home.

The treatment for the problem is defibrillation, an electrical shock to the heart that is designed to stun the heart into a more normal rhythm. Certain drugs are also sometimes administered.

A St. Elizabeth’s technician monitoring Guesman’s heart notified a nurse when Guesman suffered the arrhythmia. That nurse called a “code blue,” signalling other health-care personnel to resuscitate Guesman. Those efforts continued until 2:40 a.m., when Guesman stabilized.

During and after the resuscitation, however, it became apparent that Guesman had suffered anoxic encephalopathy (lack of oxygen to the brain) that resulted in permanent brain damage, such as short-term memory loss and speech impairment, the document says.

After extensive rehabilitation, Guesman was discharged to his wife, but he can no longer work because of diminished abilities in some areas, the document says.

Atty. Norman Moses of Warren, who filed the suit on Guesman’s behalf, argued that the hospital failed to administer appropriate medications for the condition and failed to defibrillate Guesman in a timely manner.

The hospital, through attorney Marshall D. Buck of Youngstown, said it had done nothing wrong and that Guesman’s brain injury, if any, was mild.

The jury of eight ruled in favor of the hospital 7-to-1.