Yesterday a medical malpractice jury trial against Exodus Healthcare and Jessica Latham, MPAS (physician’s assistant) started in Judge Matthew Bates’ downtown Salt Lake City courtroom. The plaintiffs are the heirs of Keith Wilcox, a 55-year old man who died in November 2011 from a dissecting aortic aneurysm.
The complaint alleges medical malpractice on the part of the defendants in failing to properly assess complaints of chest and back pain. That, it is alleged, led to a delay in performing the only treatment for an aortic aneurysm: surgery.
Judge Bates is newly-appointed, having formerly served as a Summit County prosecutor. Plaintiffs’ counsel: Norm Younker and Ashton Hyde; defense counsel: Mike Miller and Kathleen Abke. Trial is slated to last two weeks.
The insurance carrier is UMIA, and apparently no offers of settlement were made. (I have forecast that we will be seeing more “no-offer” cases in 2017 by all the carriers, not just UMIA. The carriers seem to be under pressure to try more cases in which they have determined that they have a decent chance of winning.)
Krista Wilcox, in behalf of the heirs of Keith Wilcox v. Exodus Healthcare Network, PLLC, #140902527, Third District Court for Salt Lake County, Utah.
