KEITH FELTY AND JILL VANDERCOOK RECEIVE NO CAUSE OF ACTION
Print PDFSOUTHFIELD, MI - Keith Felty and Jill Vandercook recently tried and received a defense verdict of no cause for action in the matter of Janet Howard vs Dr. Saad Sabbaugh and Huron Valley Hosptial, before Judge Colleen O’Brien in the Oakland County Circuit Court. The trial spanned two weeks from May 12th to May 23rd. Dr. Sabbagh was accused of medical malpractice for failing to timely see the patient for evaluation, failing to perform surgery in a timely manner, and failing to perform additional, necessary procedures to open arteries below the knee and into the patient’s foot. As a result, plaintiff alleged that her forefoot was amputated due to the doctor’s malpractice. In support of the doctor’s case, Mr. Felty and Ms. Vandercook argued that while Dr. Sabbagh did not see the patient for a few days, he began the treatment process by ordering tests and obtaining appropriate consultations. Eventually, the plaintiff was cleared for surgery which was performed the following week. Dr. Sabbagh’s defense team further maintained that the timing of surgery had no impact on the outcome and that the patient’s foot would not have been saved by earlier examination or earlier surgical intervention. Plaintiff’s demand was the case evaluation award in the amount of $395,000.00. The jury was out for approximately a day and a half, ultimately returning a verdict for the doctor.
Of note in this case, Dr. Sabbagh had been involved in two other cases that were settled because he had no choice. The doctor indicated from day one that he was pleased with defense counsel’s approach because counsel "did not try to steer him to settle the case" upon showing up at his office for an initial defense meeting. The goal of this defense team is to tell clients that defensible cases will be defended and this case was a prime example.