Multi-million-dollar verdict against Wesley reinstated in Wichita teacher’s death
_fitted.jpeg "Edgar and Lindsay Perez, in Las Vegas for their wedding.")
The Kansas Court of Appeals has reinstated a jury verdict against Wesley Medical Center and awarded more than $5.3 million to the surviving husband and son of a Wichita teacher who died after giving birth at the hospital.
The court ruled that District Judge William Woolley erred when he overturned the verdict against Wesley after the trial.
The appellate judges also reduced the original $6.55 million the jury awarded to widower Edgar and 6-year-old son Zander Perez in the 2015 post-birth death of Lindsay Perez, a popular drama teacher who taught at Stucky Middle School.
The jury award exceeded the $5,370,832 that the Perezes and their lawyer originally sought in the case and the appeals court reduced it accordingly.
Edgar Perez was ill Friday and couldn’t speak on the judgment. His lawyer, Brad Prochaska, said he felt the outcome was “kind of a fair deal. I really can’t complain about that.”
A Wesley spokesperson would not comment on the court case.
Earlier, Edgar Perez told The Eagle that doctors had diagnosed his wife with preeclampsia, a dangerous and potentially deadly complication of pregnancy that can cause a spike in blood pressure and damage organs such as the liver and kidneys.
They first tried to induce labor but ultimately delivered Zander by Caesarean section, Perez said.
He said his wife went through a period of temporary blindness during delivery and never got to see her son, who was taken to intensive care because the birth was premature at 35 weeks. After she regained her sight, he did show her a photo he took of the baby and her reaction was to make a fist and say “Score!”
He left shortly after that to get his wife’s personal items and when he returned, she was in distress and coughing up blood. He was ordered out of the room and “minutes later, they came and told us that she was gone,” Perez said.
The case hinged on whether a nurse had properly informed doctors of symptoms Lindsay Perez exhibited of pulmonary edema, a buildup of fluid in her lungs that led to her death.
In overturning the verdict against Wesley, Woolley ruled that the plaintiffs had not presented evidence that the death could have been averted if Perez had been treated in a timely manner with the drug Lasix, which is effective in treating pulmonary edema.
The three-judge appeals panel reviewed the trial transcripts and found the jury had been given that evidence, listing 25 times it had been raised during the trial.
“We conclude that the record contains evidence upon which a jury could have found support in favor of Perez on the issue of causation,” the appeal opinion said. “In particular, we find that there is evidence on the issue of causation from which the jury could conclude within a reasonable degree of probability that the acts or omissions of (the nurse) — for whom Wesley Medical Center is vicariously liable — caused or contributed to Lindsay Perez’ injuries and death.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 2:44 PM.
