Hennegan v. Cardiology Consultants

Summary

Case Description: In December of 2003, Charles T. Hennegan, III (“the decedent”) underwent asurgical procedural at Christiana Hospital. During the surgery, there was a fire that caused Mr. Hennegan significant burns to his upper body, face and airways. The decedent and his wife filed a medical malpractice suit on August 4, 2004 against Christiana Care Health Services, Inc., Christiana Hospital and/or Christiana CareHealth System, Mary V. McVeigh, CRNA, Mitchell E. Zebrowski, M.D., AnesthesiaServices and Piamsook Angkeow, M.D. This case continued until after Mr.Hennegan’s death on February 24, 2005. Thereafter, the decedent’s estate and daughters were substituted as plaintiffs. The complaint also was amended to include a wrongful death count. This case settled in December 2005, and all plaintiffs signed releases. Evidently, only Mrs. Hennegan actually received money from the settlement. The daughters, plaintiffs in their own right exclusively because of the wrongful death statutes, reportedly did not receive money directly from the Hennegan v. Cardiology Consultants, et al. Money, of course, is not the only type of recognized consideration. In February of 2005, Mr. Hennegan was admitted to Beebe Medical Center (“Beebe”) for surgery to remove plaque from an artery in his neck. The surgery took place on February 18th. While recovering from surgery, Mr. Hennegan died at Beebeon February 24, 2005. In March 2006, Mrs. Hennegan and her four daughters filed suit against BeebeMedical Center, Inc. for medical malpractice. That suit was dismissed voluntarily on February 21, 2007. On February 12, 2007, the current suit was filed against Cardiology Consultants and Ali Delbakhsh, M.D. It is a medical malpractice action with a wrongful death component. The complaint alleges negligence at Beebe in February of 2005.

Proceedings Description: The Petitioner appeals the motion for summary judgment granted by the Superior Court.

Outcome: The court affirmed the Superior court’s ruling.
http://courts.delaware.gov/opinions/download.aspx?ID=130210