YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A jury this week in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court awarded the estate of a Columbiana County man $7 million following a civil trial.
The jury made their decision Wednesday, finding Alteon Health LLC. and Dr. Patrick Bovino, who court records list is now in West Virginia, responsible for the wrongful death of 53-year-old Brian D. Patrick of Columbiana County.
Patrick died May 23, 2020, two days after he was treated in the emergency room of St. Elizabeth Health Center.
The jury’s verdicts came after a trial that started Oct. 10 before Visiting Judge Thomas Pokorny.
Alteon Health is a group practice that has a Columbus office. They merged with U.S. Acute Care Solutions in February 2022.
Bovino was an employee of Alteon Health at the time of Patrick’s death.
The original suit also named Mercy Health and another doctor who was working with Bovino in the emergency room when Patrick was first brought in but claims against them were dismissed Oct. 4 with prejudice.
Alteon was named in an amended complaint that was filed in July 2021. The original complaint was filed March 19, 2021, on behalf of Michelle Patrick, the administrator of Brian Patrick’s estate.
The complaints said that Patrick called paramedics March 21, 2020, after he vomited blood and he was taken to the emergency room at St. Elizabeth, where he was seen by Bovino and the other doctor.
The suit said Patrick had a history of gastrointestinal disease and lupus and there were “multiple” instances of him vomiting blood in his medical records.
Blood work and X-rays were ordered for Patrick and he was told to stop taking the anti-inflammatory medicine he was using for back pain. He was told to take something that is not anti-inflammatory for his back and given medication for stomach and gastrointestinal issues. He was released a few hours after he arrived.
Two days later, Patrick was vomiting blood again and called paramedics. He was again taken to the emergency room, where he died. The cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest due to acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
The suit said that the doctors who treated Patrick on his initial visit to the emergency room failed to do more extensive blood or diagnostic testing and also did not consult with any specialists in gastrointestinal issues.
A trial brief submitted by counsel for Bovino and Alteon said Patrick was given “multiple” physical examinations, lab tests and X-rays before he was discharged.
Jurors awarded Patrick’s estate $2 million for mental anguish and non-economic losses and $5 million for future losses. They found the defendants negligent in Patrick’s care and that the negligence was a “proximate” cause of his death.
