Emory University and its health care system have settled a medical malpractice lawsuit after being hit with a $38.6 million jury verdict over the death of a 20-year-old heart transplant patient at Emory University Hospital.
Lawyers for Barbara Brown, the mother of Tre’von Falson, alleged that Emory’s medical team failed to perform a CT scan on Falson’s chest prior to his heart transplant surgery in November 2017. They said such a scan is standard practice before heart transplants, and that had it been done, doctors would have seen that part of Falson’s mechanical heart pump had moved to the back of his chest.
Falson died a month after turning 20 as a result of massive blood loss and organ failure, after surgeons cut into the part of his heart pump that had moved, case records show.
“We were convinced that Tre’von’s mother had a strong case, and we were determined to bring her a positive resolution,” Richard Hendrix, one of Brown’s attorneys, said in a Jan. 12 press release about the case. “Obviously nothing can bring back her son, but at the very least, she now no longer has to agonize over the millions of dollars in medical bills that accrued during Tre’von’s struggle with heart disease.”
Emory told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution its “thoughts and prayers” are with Falson’s family.
“We will continue our mission of providing high-quality, compassionate care to all patients who come to our facilities,” Emory said Tuesday in response to questions about the case. “We appreciate the dedication and commitment of our many care teams across our health system.”
Emory fought the medical malpractice allegations from the time Brown filed her complaint in November 2018 through the end of trial in November 2023, case records show.
On Nov. 9, a jury awarded Brown $30 million for the value of her son’s life, $6 million for his pain and suffering, and $2.6 million for medical expenses. The jurors found that Emory’s heart transplant program was liable for medical malpractice.
The surgeon who led Falson’s heart transplant was absolved of blame at trial.
The terms of the post-trial settlement, which ended any further litigation in the case, are confidential, Brown’s attorneys told the AJC. As part of the settlement, Brown voluntarily dismissed her case on Dec. 14.
Falson, from Columbus, Georgia, was diagnosed with heart failure in June 2016, case records show. He allegedly had a heart pump implanted at the end of that month at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta.
Brown claimed that no-one at Emory performed or reviewed a CT scan of Falson’s chest in the 16 months between his heart pump surgery and his heart transplant surgery on Nov. 2, 2017.
Part of Falson’s heart pump was lacerated by a saw used by surgeons to open his chest for the heart transplant, causing massive bleeding, according to Brown’s complaint. She alleged it took 40 minutes for the surgery team to control the bleeding.
After the heart transplant surgery, Falson remained at Emory University Hospital in a critical condition until his death on Christmas Day in 2017, case records show. The loss of almost his total blood volume during surgery resulted in the failure of his new heart, liver, kidneys and other organs, Brown’s attorneys said.
“We never expected this case to last over five years,” Hendrix said in the press release.
Brown’s lawyers claimed the jury’s verdict in the case was the largest medical malpractice verdict that Emory has faced.
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