The death of a 31 year-old police officer, immediately following sexual activities with two others, recently became grounds for a medical malpractice suit, as reported by 11 Alive Atlanta and several other news media. A jury found the man's physician partially responsible for his failure to diagnose, correctly treat and to warn the man not to engage in any strenuous activities.
The Ménage a Trois, also known as a three-way, between the officer, W.M., another man and a woman – that was not his wife – made it difficult for attorneys to gain the jury's sympathy for the deceased.
The attorney for the widow, Tricia "CK" Hoffler, said, "In this case, you had adultery, you had infidelity, you had a Ménage a Trois and you had the fact that he was a police officer."
Named in the suit was Dr. S.G. and the Cardiovascular Group.
Allegedly, on March 12, 2009, the three friends engaged in sex at a motel near the Atlanta airport on Virginia Avenue. At approximately three in the morning, W.M. fell off of the bed and grew unresponsive.
When EMTs arrived at the scene, they were also unable to revive W.M.
W.M. was taken to the South Fulton Medical Center and pronounced dead within the next hour. Listed as cause of death was "Atheroschlerotic coronary artery disease."
Lawyers representing W.M.'s widow claimed that Dr. S.G. failed to properly diagnose and treat W.M. and that some of his ailments required that he have further testing. They also alleged that W.M. should have been warned not to engage in any type of strenuous activities until after his tests were completed.
W.M. allegedly suffered with high blood pressure, chest pains, shortness of breath and irregular heartbeat.
Dr. R.E., the family's attorney, said, "The type of sex that he was engaged in is the type that's totally unacceptable to our community. But the fact of the matter is this man could have died running on the treadmill, running after a criminal."
The Gwinnett County jury found W.M. 40 percent responsible for his own death. The award, originally set at $5 million, was therefore reduced to $3 million.
The suit was filed on behalf of the widow, S.M., and the couple's two young children aged 7 and 9. S.M. issued a written statement that said, "This is certainly not the best of times for me and my family. We love my husband and the father of our two sons and we will have to carry on without him…"
A statement released by Dr. S.G.'s lawyer read, "Dr. (S.G.) did everything he could to prevent Mr. (S.M.'s) death. Mr. (S.M.) had a well-documented history of not following his doctors' instructions. Here, after examining Mr. (S.M.), Dr. (S.G.) recommended follow-up cardiac testing, and he offered Mr. (S.M.) an appointment for the next day to have the testing performed. Mr. (S.M.) refused, and instead he scheduled the testing to take place one week later-the day after the sexual encounter that he had planned. Dr. (S.G.) also specifically told Mr. (S.M.) not to engage in any strenuous activity, but unfortunately Mr. (S.M.) ignored this warning..."
If you have lost a loved one due to a physician's error, or negligence by medical staff, you have grounds for a lawsuit. Click here for our directory and contact a medical malpractice attorney to best suit you needs – now.