In September 2018, 51-year-old Saverio Sasso experienced a burning sensation when urinating, indicating that he had a urinary tract infection, as well as having nausea and fever for which he sought medical evaluation at an urgent care facility. Less than 24 hours later, he went to the emergency department at Cleveland Clinic Florida, complaining of severe back pain.
The Florida medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit alleged that Sasso was admitted to an intermediate step-down unit for observation but that the standard of care required that he be admitted to the intensive care unit because he was at a high risk of developing sepsis due to his ongoing urinary tract infection.
Sasso’s condition deteriorated overnight, and the rapid response team was called to his bedside the next day to intubate him. A resident who was part of the rapid response team had difficulty intubating Sasso and therefore an anesthesiologst was called to place the breathing tube. Due to the lack of oxygen for fourteen minutes, Sasso suffered a severe brain injury. He died one week later.
Cleveland Clinic Florida reportedly argued to the jury that Sasso died as a result of a congenital medical condition.
Earlier in 2024, the Florida medical malpractice wrongful death jury found the hospital negligent and awarded $31.9 million in compensatory damages: $30 million for present and future pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and loss of guidance for Sasso’s minor daughter, and approximately $1.9 million for medical expenses, loss of support, and funeral expenses.
The Cleveland Clinic Florida responded to the verdict in a statement to an insurance journal that read “The well-being of our patients is our top priority. While we respect the jury’s verdict and appreciate the time they committed to hear the case, we do not agree with the outcome and are evaluating our options.”
The plaintiff’s lawyer filed a motion seeking sanctions and a directed verdict against Cleveland Clinic Florida because it allegedly “deliberately and intentionally withheld” from the plaintiff emails that the court had ordered to be turned over to the plaintiff, including an email that supposedly corroborates that a resident instead of a fellow attempted the intubation of Sasso, and another email that referenced a nurse on the rapid response team “freezing” and leaving Sasso’s room, as well as other alleged misconduct by Cleveland Clinic Florida, including “Defendants had successfully excluded all adverse incident and investigative materials but then elicited testimony throughout trial which was directly contradicted by the evidence they excluded.”
If you or a loved one have suffered serious harm (or worse) as a result of hospital negligence in Florida or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Florida medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your hospital malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a hospital medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Click here to visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find medical malpractice attorneys in your U.S. state who may assist you.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.
