In September, I went to get the mail and immediately caught an envelope, addressed to me, that said "Ramsey County Jury Office." "Shit," I thought to myself... This would be the second time I have been summoned.
The first time was actually in Hennepin County and I was about 23 years old. I went in for two days and sat in the room they call the Jury Pool area... where potential jurors wait to be called to a case. The other days of the week I just had to call in to see if they needed me.
I was instructed to report for the week of November 15 - 19th. I honestly thought and planned in my head that I would just go in a day, maybe two and then just have to call in the rest of the week. Little did I know what was in store for me...
I reported to the Ramsey County Courthouse at 8:30 a.m., Monday, November 15th. For about an hour they review the processes and procedures to follow during our week of service. Meanwhile I am sitting in a room packed full of people irritated and who would all prefer to be elsewhere... Within minutes of the orientation, a courtroom clerk walks in and instructs that she will be calling off names of people that are to follow her up to the 15th floor. She mentioned that she will be calling 12 names for a jury of 8 people. I believe I was the third person called off... "Ughhh...," I thought to myself.
We get up to the courtroom and there are two parties of individuals scanning each of us as we walk into the room. The judge (Judge M. Michael Monahan ) instructed that he will be interviewing each of us potential jurors and that we are to answer appropriately. The interviews are conducted and the judge indicates that the case will take longer than 1 week. A couple people voiced their concerns/conflicts and to each the judge indicated that their excuses where not enough for him to release them as potential jurors. I decided to keep my mouth shut, but prayed and prayed that I wouldn't be selected... needless to say, I was selected.
So, now I will share with you the details of the case. Before I do, please keep in mind that I sat through 8 days of testimony and what I am about to share with you is minuscule.
The story:
A woman, I will call Mrs. W, was diagnosed with Crohns disease at the age of 23. Since she was diagnosed, she never thought she would be able to have children. Married at the age of 27 to her high school sweetheart, Mr. W., they lived a very simple life in Maplewood, MN. Mrs. W worked at a local nursing home part time. At the age of 34/35 and after 5 years of no Crohns flares, Mrs. W learned that the medication she was taking for her Crohns disease was safe for her to get pregnant. After consulting with her Gastroenterologist and OB/GYN, she and her husband very quickly got pregnant. Her pregnancy was great. She went through her pregnancy with no Crohns complications and the baby did well every step of the way.
May 15th, 2006, Mrs. W went to the emergency room at St. Joe's in Maplewood, MN. She complained of pain in her abdomen and was treated for constipation and sent home.
On May 19th, 2006 she went back into the emergency room for pain in her abdomen and was admitted. Upon review of x-rays it was noted that Mrs. W was severely constipated (obstipated, a severe form of constipation). Dr. G (one of the doctors being sued by Mr. & Mrs. W) was the doctor on call for St. John's the day Mrs. W came in and was called in as a consultant for Mrs. W seeing as she has Crohns disease. Dr. G reviewed the x-ray further with the radiologist and implemented a plan for the doctors and staff as he was at the end of his being on call that week at St. John's. The baby was shown to be doing well and not showing any signs of stress.
Mrs. Ws OB/GYN was also examining her and reviewing her situation. All parties that examined Mrs. W found the abdominal exams as normal and continued to treat her for severe constipation. The doctors described this as watchful waiting.
Over the weekend, Mrs. G was seen by her OB/GYN 's partner and a doctor's assistant. Her pain and discomfort continued over the weekend, and all who examined Mrs. W maintained that she had severe constipation. On Monday, Dr. P (the 2nd doctor that was being sued by Mr. & Mrs. W) was the GI doctor on call at St. John's. He collaborated with Mrs. W's OB/GYN and the two discussed the plans moving forward with Mrs. W. A conversation was had with Mr. & Mrs. W about a CT scan being done to do a more thorough review of what might be going on inside of Mrs. W. While a CT scan is a more detailed view that an x-ray, it is said to be 500 times the exposure to radiation than 1 x-ray. Fetuses exposed to this level of radiation are at great risk for developmental issues. Mr. & Mrs. W declined having a CT scan done. They also declined an offer to be transferred to the Mayo Clinic where Mrs. W's latest CI doctor is located. The baby continued to show no stress and doing well.
On Monday and Tuesday doctors noted that Mrs. W had shown improvement. She had passed some bowels and was showing some signs of improvement.
On Wednesday morning, Mrs. W was discharged. Prior to leaving her room, she decided to try to relieve her bowel one more time. When she pushed, she felt a pain that she described as her insides exploding/ripping apart. Mr. W noted that he heard his wife scream from the bathroom. They spoke to Nurse B who said that she was already discharged and if she wanted to speak with a doctor, she would have to go through the ER. Mr. & Mrs. W decided to go home.
Just a few hours later, Mr. & Mrs. W returned and was in an acute condition. The baby was dead.
Mrs. W's colon had perforated and her bowel was literally leaking into her abdomen cavity. She was in such great risk for her life, that they were not able to operate.
Thursday morning Mr. & Mrs. W's son, Luke, was delivered at 4 lbs. 4 oz. After he was delivered, surgery was performed on Mrs. W to clean up the stool in her abdomen and all the other issues that needed to be addressed. Because of the damage done to Mrs. W's colon, she was left with a colostmeny.
It took several months before Mrs. W was able to get back to normal... after the loss of her son and the great damage that was done to her body. Again, please remember, what I am sharing with you is a very minimal portion of the story. So much is being left out. Things that I did hear in the testimonies given and things that were not brought to the courtroom.
I will tell you that Mrs. & Mrs. W sued Dr. G & Dr. P in the case I was serving as a Juror for. Apparently they also sued the hospital and a settlement was reached, however, I did not receive any information for that.
The jury found Dr. G & Dr. P not at fault for any of the events that happened to Mrs. W. In the questionnaire, we had to fill out together we had to also indicate if we thought Nurse B was at fault, and we did find her at fault for not contacting a doctor after Mrs. W was discharged from the hospital, but was still there and had experienced a greater pain. All but one of the jurors agreed and in this case it was majority.
We also had to indicate monetary amounts for the pain and suffering of the experience for Mrs. W, for Mr. W's loss of his wife’s services (i.e. caring children, etc.), the loss of their son, etc.) These questions had to be answered regardless of who we found at fault for what happened to Mrs. W. It was very difficult to put numbers on these items. But we did.
The day that we deliberated and concluded, the judge was out of town for Thanksgiving. We met with a different judge who took our questionnaire with our decisions. The parties to the case were not there. It is my understanding that they will convene when the Judge assigned to the case returns and he will read them the verdict. I am actually very happy not to be in the room when our decisions are made... It was enough of an emotional rollercoaster as it was.
So, that was it. Apparently I am in the clear from this for another 4 - 7 years...
