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MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

Friday, April 26, 2024

Med mal trial ends abruptly, defendants settle case

Dana Lynn Askew's wrongful death trial against Anderson Hospital, Raghu Kanumuri, M.D., Jacob Marshall, M.D. and Michael Rallo, M.D., abruptly ended as defendants settled, apparently deciding not to roll the dice.

Madison County Circuit Judge Nicholas Byron entered the settlement under seal on Tuesday.

Sources tell The Record that prior to the start of the trial a settlement offer of approximately b$2.5 million was made but rejected by the plaintiff.

During opening arguments in the year's first medical malpractice trial on Jan. 10, Rex Carr, 79, told a jury of six men and six women that the patient was not "salvageable" by the time a qualified physician took over his care for treatment of dehydration, vomiting and diarrhea on March 13, 2003.

Dana Askew's husband, David, died at the hospital on March 15, 2003.

Carr told the jury he was seeking damages in the vicinity of $10 million.

Carr told the jury that the trio of treating physicians failed to properly treat Askew for sepsis and also claims that the nurses at Anderson were negligent in their care.

Carr told the jury that all three doctors were not board certified in emergency medicine; they were certified in family practice.

Carr told the jury that Askew, at age 35, ran his own business-- Midwest Touchups-- and was earning approximately $60,000 a year at the time of his death.

The trial was expected to last into early February.

Each doctor, represented individually, told the jury that they did not believe that Carr would be able to meet the burden of proof in the case. They all stated that the doctors did not deviate from the standards of care.

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