WARREN, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - An Ohio court wrongly dismissed a lawsuit over a 79-year-old woman’s death from heart failure, an appeals court ruled, giving plaintiffs another chance to convince a jury the woman’s cardiologist was to blame because he didn’t immediately answer pages and phone calls.
Jennifer Bellissimo was suffering from congestive heart failure, lung disease and kidney disease when she was admitted to Tripoint Medical Center in 2020 complaining of chest pain. Doctors there noted she had low heart rate and slightly elevated troponin levels, indicating heart injury, but decided her chest pain wasn’t cardiac related. Her cardiologist, Dr. Thomas W. Wilson, agreed with their plan of care.
Around 5 p.m. Bellissimo’s condition changed for the worse and she was admitted to the intensive care union. Hospital staff tried to page and phone Dr. Wilson but couldn’t reach him. Physicians on duty ordered drugs to stabilize her heart rate and one of them later testified he considered transferring Bellissimo to University Hospitals but didn’t.
Belissimo’s sons testified they didn’t recall seeing any doctors in her room that night and the monitors “were consistently ringing.” Medical records, however, show doctors did see her or reviewed her case during this period, including a change in orders at around 8 pm.
A Tripoint doctor reached Wilson on his cell phone later that evening and Dr. Wilson took over her care, ordering Bellissimo transferred to University Hospitals where she died of a heart attack on Sept, 27.
The case went to trial but at the end of testimony the trial judge entered a directed verdict for the defense in part because records showed Dr. Wilson wasn’t on call that night and the doctor testified he never received any pages. Ohio’s 11th District Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal in a Jan. 8 decision by Judge Robert J. Patton, however, finding there was enough disputed evidence for a jury to conclude the records were wrong.
A plaintiff expert testified the time delay between when Tripoint started trying to reach Dr. Wilson and when he answered his phone could have contributed to Bellissimo’s death.
“Because there is testimony which supports plaintiff’s claim, the trial court erred when it determined that Dr. Wilson did not receive the text messages based upon his testimony,” the appeals court concluded. “As such, the trial court erred when it granted Dr. Wilson’s motion for a directed verdict.”