Davis & Davis’s client, Foncine Carthel, suffered serious and permanent injuries while receiving treatment and care from Covenant Hospital Plainview, Ilhan Yildiz, M.D., and David Dustin Edwards, CRNA, who are the Defendants in this case. Our attorneys, John “JD” Davis and Steven Davis set forth that the Defendants were guilty of failing to follow standards set by the Texas Medical Board, the Nurse Practices Act, Texas Attorney General provisions, as well as state and federal laws and regulations concerning the administration of anesthesia services. The jury agreed and awarded the plaintiff $1.23M.
Both JD and Steven are pleased with the outcome for their client, as these violations of standards of care and state and federal laws were not unique to the plaintiff’s surgery. In fact these violations had apparently been going on for a long time with respect to surgeries performed by Dr. Yildiz at Covenant Hospital Plainview prior to our client’s surgery.
Understanding the Details of the Case
On or around July 12, 2018, Mrs. Foncine Carthel was admitted to Covenant Hospital Plainview for treatment, where she was evaluated for her Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, and a recent cough. Chest x-rays showed no clear evidence of pneumonia, but antibiotics and nebulizers were ordered as a precaution. That same day, Mrs. Carthel underwent a colonoscopy with a biopsy, which was performed under anesthesia by Defendant Ilhan Yildiz, M.D. Prior to the procedure, she was evaluated by Defendant David Dustin Edwards, CRNA, in what was meant to be a pre-operative anesthesia evaluation. The evidence will show that the standard of care requires this evaluation to be conducted by an anesthesiologist, not a CRNA, as acknowledged by the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Despite this, CRNA Edwards was responsible for Mrs. Carthel’s anesthesia care during the procedure, and no formal order for anesthesia services was delegated to him.
On July 13, 2018, Mrs. Carthel was scheduled for a second surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Once again, CRNA Edwards conducted the pre-operative anesthesia evaluation without an anesthesiologist’s involvement or any physician order delegating this task to him. Mrs. Carthel was noted to have a severe fluid deficit and a high risk of complications, but surgery proceeded despite these concerns. The evidence will show that the actions of the Defendants violated multiple standards of care and relevant state and federal laws regarding the administration of anesthesia. Specifically, Dr. Yildiz did not delegate anesthesia responsibilities to CRNA Edwards, and CRNA Edwards essentially practiced medicine without proper supervision, violating both state and federal regulations.
During the surgery, Dr. Yildiz used a Veress needle, which is a spring-loaded, closed-entry device, to insufflate Mrs. Carthel’s abdomen, but failed to follow proper safety protocols. These protocols include aspirating to check for blood or using a saline drop test. These safety measures are critical to prevent injury to the patient, and Dr. Yildiz’s failure to follow them constitutes negligence and a violation of the standard of care.
To read the Charge to Jury for this case in its entirety, you can read more here.
