A’rionne Cheves went to an ER, complaining of fever and chills, and was discharged with a diagnosis of viral syndrome.
She was prescribed the nausea medication Zofrin and sent home after about two hours without having undergone a cardiac exam or chest X-ray.
After 18 hours, she passed away and the autopsy revealed a rare and untreatable pulmonary condition.
The plaintiffs’ argued that Young should have ordered a chest X-ray that would have “more likely than not” revealed the pneumonia and hypertension.
As the medical malpractice trial went underway, a Cobb County jury found no evidence of negligence by the treating physician, PA-C Daniel Young.
Defense attorney Heather McGrotty said Cheves died after going into cardiac arrest as a result of an uncommon disorder that the PA-C had no indication of when he examined her.
An autopsy revealed that the primary cause of death was idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, an exceedingly rare, incurable disease which dramatically reduces life expectancy. Her condition also deteriorated due to pneumonia.
The entire trial was completed in 2½-weeks.