For the second time in seven months a physician embattled in a medical malpractice complaint has filed a motion to dismiss.
In April, plaintiff Kathy Keegan sued two doctors and two hospitals, alleging her father would still be alive if the care providers had recognized the fact that he was bleeding to death.
She filed the suit April 6 in Jefferson County District Court against Memorial Hermann Baptist Orange Hospital, Christus Hospital St. Elizabeth and Drs. Derrick M. Myers and Steven K. Sooudi.
On Nov. 29 Dr. Myers filed his second motion to dismiss, arguing that Keegan has failed to comply with an Oct. 28 order to amend her medical expert report, court records show.
Dr. Myers filed his first motion in August challenging the sufficiently of the plaintiff's expert report, authored by Dr. Frank Meissner.
Under Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Code, plaintiffs are required to submit an expert report when filing med-mal complaints.
Judge Donald Floyd, 172nd District Court, denied the motion but did order the plaintiff to amend her report within 30 days.
"To date, plaintiff still has not served defendant with compliant expert report," the motion states.
In his first motion to dismiss, Dr. Myers argued Dr. Meissner was not qualified to testify on emergency medicine or surgery.
Case background
In her suit, Keegan claims her father, David Barrow, underwent a cardiac catherization on April 16, 2009. Three days later, Barrow had a syncopal episode at home and was transported to Memorial Hermann where he was admitted to the emergency department under the care of Dr. Myers.
Upon initial evaluation, doctors diagnosed Barrow as being hypotensive with pain in his groin at the catheter insertion site, the suit states. The emergency room's triage nurse also noted there was right lower extremity bruising, the complaint says.
Keegan claims a venous duplex study revealed a large hematoma in Barrow's right lower extremity.
Later that day Barrow was transferred to Christus Hospital in Beaumont.
"There was no Memorandum of Transfer, and no explanation as to why Mr. Barrow was transferred as opposed to receiving further care at Baptist Hospital," the suit states. "Likewise, there was no evaluation of the risks and benefits of the transfer."
The suit goes on to say that at Christus Hospital, a CT scan revealed Barrow's abdomen and pelvis had a large, ill-defined hematoma in his thigh and lower groin region, the complaint says.
According to the complaint, at 11:40 p.m., April 19, 2009, while Barrow was still in the Christus Hospital emergency department, he became unresponsive and was intubated, Keegan claims. At 12:35 a.m., he was moved from the emergency department to the intensive care unit.
At 5 a.m., Barrow died after Sooudi ordered emergency officials not to resuscitate him, the suit states.
An autopsy revealed Barrow died from a leak in his catheter insertion site that should have been treated shortly after his arrival at Baptist Orange Hospital at 10:30 a.m., April 19, the complaint says.
Keegan blames Myers, in part, for causing her father's death, saying he negligently failed to actively manage Barrow's medical condition, failed to assess Barrow's medical condition, failed to diagnose Barrow's hemorrhagic shock and failed to diagnose the source of Barrow's bleeding.
Keegan is suing for all wrongful death damages allowable under law.
Giles Kibbe of Weller, Green, Toups and Terrell in Beaumont represents her.
Dr. Myers is represented by attorney Joel Sprott of the Munisteri, Sprott, Rigby, Newsom & Robbins law firm of Houston.
Case No. E186-481