MORGANTOWN – A Monongalia County woman blames West Virginia University Hospitals and two physicians for the death of her husband.
Rebecca Morris, as administratrix of the estate of Bryan Morris, filed her complaint in Monongalia Circuit Court against WVU Hospitals Inc., the WVU Board of Governors, Dr. Allison Tadros and Dr. Rachel Polinski.
According to the complaint, Bryan Morris went to MedExpress on November 23, 2019, with chest pain radiating into the left side of his neck. After examination there showed him hypertensive and tachycardic, arrangements were made to have him transported to WVU Hospitals via ambulance.
At WVU Hospitals, tests were performed. Morris’ x-ray revealed cardiomegaly, which would suggest chronic hypertension. An EKG was interpreted by computer as showing possible left atrial enlargement, left ventricular hypertrophy and inferior infarct. Tadros overread the computer with her own interpretation of left ventricular hypertrophy and overall an abnormal EKG.
Medical documents show Morris complained of chest pain throughout his ER stay up until his discharge.
The following day, Morris died. He was 40.
“When a patient presents with a chief complaint of chest pain radiating into the neck, a physician’s differential diagnosis must include a cardiac condition, an aortic dissection and other possible life-threatening conditions,” the complaint states. “When these life-threatening conditions are included on a physician’s differential diagnosis, they must be excluded as a cause of a patient’s condition before the patient is safely discharged.
“When a physician fails to exclude life-threatening conditions as a potential cause of a patient’s condition prior to discharge, the patient is needlessly endangered.”
The complaint says Tadros and Polinski should have recognized Morris was experiencing a potential aortic dissection and should have ordered a CT angiogram, which would have revealed the underlying aortic dissection that was revealed on autopsy.
The complaint accuses Tadros and Polinski of negligence and wrongful death. WVU’s Board of Governors of vicarious liability, WVU Hospitals of ostensible agency negligence and wrongful death.
Rebecca Morris seeks compensatory damages and punitive damages as well as pre- and post-judgment interest and other relief.
She is being represented by Kerrie Wagoner Boyle and P. Gregory Haddad of Bailey & Glasser’s Morgantown office.
Monongalia Circuit Court case number 20-C-331