Examples Of Cases In Which Dr. Meyer Has Been Called
To Testify In As Expert Witness

• A 17 year old girl presented to hospital ER with her mother complaining of severe headache and stiff neck on three occasions over a six week interval discharged home each time without a CT scan of her head or detailed neurological examination. The diagnosis each time was migraine headache. On the fourth occasion, shortly after discharge home, the mother brought her to the ER with severe headache and stupor. A CT scan revealed ruptured cerebral arteriovenous malformation. She expired while in transit to a higher care facility for neurosurgical care and surgery. The ER physician was guilty of below standard of care for not examining patient and performing CT scan of brain and referring her for earlier neurosurgical care.
  
  
• Dr. Meyer reviewed the medical records on an 83 year old man who died leaving a multi-million dollar estate, but his will was contested by the family members who were not beneficiaries claiming he was non-compos mentis at his will signing. Dr. Meyer showed evidence that up to three days prior to death the man was making highly lucrative investments, knew who his family members were, all the circumstances of his estate and of the sophisticated investments at the time of making his will.
  
  
• A 63 year old hypertensive and diabetic woman had sudden onset of paralysis numbness and weakness of her left side and she reported to the ER after several episodes of similar ministrokes during the preceding months. Her admission evaluation was so delayed that CT scan confirming ischemic stroke of right hemisphere was not completed until 6 hours after stroke onset. By that time, it was 3 hours beyond stroke onset and too late for TPA (clot buster) treatment. The Court concluded that her treatment was below standard and her disability, medical costs, loss of income and living costs should be awarded to her by the hospital and her attending staff.
  
  
• A 53 year old schizophrenic male patient was committed to psychiatric care at a municipal state hospital, but during his institutionalized care he fell down stairs, struck his head and suffered cerebral contusion, subdural hematoma and subarachnoid hemorrhage. His following course was complicated by epileptic seizures of both Grand Mal and Petit Mal types. He was transferred to a private hospital whose neurosurgeons carried out arteriograms and elected not to operate but waited for spontaneous absorption of the subdural hematoma. Dr. Meyer carried out an Independent Medical Examination (IME) which confirmed he now suffered dementia secondary to closed head injury, with healing cerebral contusion secondary to his fall, with resorbing subdural hematomas, epilepsy controlled by Depalcote and Tegnelot and Schizophrenia controlled by antipsychotic drugs. The Court ruled that had fall precautions been followed to avoid the dangers of falling, and had the patient been adequately supervised, the fall and subsequent head injury, more likely than not, would have been avoided and he would have returned to normal living and gainful employment.
  
  
• A 20 year old man suffered a superficial skin wound infection of the right leg with fever. He was treated with antibiotics on an out-patient basis but complained of pain in his back with low grade fever that persisted for 6 weeks with worsening back pain followed by numbness and weakness of both legs. He was finally admitted to hospital when he could no longer move his legs but was observed in hospital because of "probable malingering." His blood cultures were positive. A sensory level at T10 was detected, with motor paraplegia, and an epidural abscess from T5-T10 was detected by MRI of the spine. The abscess was surgically evacuated, but too late, resulting in permanent paraplegia. The Court ruled that had septicemia and epidural abscess been diagnosed earlier, more likely than not, he would not have suffered permanent paraplegia.

Summary Listing of Past Cases