HUNTINGTON – The mother of a 23-year-old woman blames staff at St. Mary’s Medical Center and others for her daughter’s death, but the doctor listed on the medical records says he wasn’t even working that day.
Cara Davis, as administratrix of the estate of Rosemarie Lynn McNeely, filed her complaint last month in Cabell Circuit Court against Dr Neil Panchal, Certified Family Nurse Practitioner Jody Frazier, VEP Healthcare, Atlas Locum Tenens, Atlas Physicians, St. Mary’s Medical Center doing business as St. Mary’s Emergency Department, USACS Management Group, US Acute Care Solutions and USACS Medical Group.
“I don’t think a 23-year-old should be discharged from an emergency room with chest pain who was only examined by a nurse practitioner with no tests,” Mark Staun, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, told The West Virginia Record. “Our citizens deserve better. Patients deserve to be seen by physicians.”
Mark R. Staun
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According to the complaint, McNeely presented to St. Mary’s ER on December 9, 2019. She was triaged at a level 4, which is non-urgent. She told Frazier she had diagnosed earlier at Med Express with bronchitis.
Some of McNeely’s vital signs at admission include a pulse oximetry reading of 93 percent and a body mass index of 41. Frazier’s notes indicate she suspected McNeely had pneumonia and/or an upper respiratory infection. She added Zithromax to her regimen of medicine and discharged her.
“Frazier did not order a chest x-ray, blood work, an EKG or any of the diagnostic tests during the time Ms. McNeely was at St. Mary’s,” the complaint states. “There is no notation in the medical record as to findings of defendant Dr. Panchal, Ms. McNeely’s admitting and attending physician.”
McNeely was found dead by her 3-year-old daughter. The complaint says she was “cold on the couch with blood on her nose and on her shirt.” An autopsy showed McNeely died of cardiac tamponade from a ruptured dissecting aneurism of the ascending thoracic aorta that measured 14.5x4 centimeters.
In his answer, Panchal denies the allegations and seeks to be dismissed from the lawsuit because he says he wasn’t working the day McNeely was in the ER and didn’t provide any care to her despite the fact he is listed as the admitting and attending physician.
“The complaint contain no specific allegations regarding any conduct on the part of Dr. Panchal because Ms. McNeely was not Dr. Panchal’s patient,” the answer states. “Dr. Panchal did not provide care for Ms. McNeely and did not sign any of the records.”
Dr. Terry G. Sanders electronically co-signed Frazier’s notes four days later after McNeely had died. His name appears nowhere else in the medical records.
“I don’t know how someone can be listed as the admitting and attending physician and not even be working,” Staun told The Record.
Davis’ complaint accuses Panchal and Frazier of negligence for failing them to properly assess McNeely’s condition, saying her chest pain, obesity and low pulse ox reading should have been enough for them to consider a pulmonary embolism and to order an EKG, a chest X-ray and other lab works.
It also accuses VEP Healthcare, Atlas Locum Tenens, Atlas Physicians and USACS of vicarious liability because Paschal and Frazier were employed or agents of those companies. It accuses St. Mary’s of agent/joint venture liability for entering into a contractual agreement for VEP to provide ER staffing services at the hospital.
The plaintiff seeks compensatory damages, pre- and post-judgment interest and other relief. She is being represented by Staun and Dean Hartley of Hartley Law Group in Charleston and by John W. Alderman III of Charleston. Panchal is being represented by Timothy Linkous and Dana Hantel of Linkous Law in Morgantown. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Chris Chiles.
Cabell Circuit Court case number 22-c-85