Cleveland V. Perry: A Case Study

On April 3, 2015, Tammy Cleveland sued Gregory C. Perry, a doctor at Buffalo General and Kaleida Health the company that owns both hospitals involved in the death of her husband, Michael Cleveland. Tammy is accusing them of “negligent” care resulting in her husband’s death. The law suit claims that the “defendants’ alleged actions and/or inactions were morally culpable, actuated by evil and reprehensible motives, malicious, reckless, gross, wanton and/or in reckless disregard for her husband’s rights and her family’s rights.” (Dudzik, 2015) The defendants are contesting the case.
Michael Cleveland had a heart attack on October 10, 2014, and was transported to the emergency room of DeGraff Memorial Hospital. When the patient's wife arrived,

To show that a breach of professional duty occurred, there must be the concept of standard of care. Standard of care generally refers to that care which a reasonable, similar professional would have provided to the patient. Morissette writes “to establish breach of a standard of professional care, expert witness testimony becomes essential since a jury of laypersons cannot understand the distinctions of medical care.” (2014, p. 134) An emergency room doctor would be an exceptional witness to show that the inactions of Dr. Perry greatly reduced the chance of his patient surviving. In addition, the Learned Hand Formula should be applied in this case, by checking Michael’s vitals, Dr. Perry would have reduced the risk of harm and possibly death because he would have realized his misdiagnoses and would have given Michael a greater chance of

“To prove the causation element, the injured plaintiff must show a direct relationship between the alleged misconduct and the injury sustained from the misconduct.” (Morissette, 2014) Tammy Cleveland can show a legally sufficient relationship between the breach of duty and the injury that is is referred to as proximate causation. But for the fact Dr. Perry refused to check the vitals of Michael Cleveland he misdiagnosed him, which in turn caused his death. Dr. Perry can also be charged with negligence per se for “failing to obey the statute and adhering the standard of care expected of him as a doctor”. (Dudzik, 2015) He neglected his patient and the pleas from his family, ultimately shortening his life. There is also the substantial factor test. Dr. Perry’s inaction was a major contributor in causing Michael Cleveland’s death. Before entering, the ER Michael’s ribs were broken from CPR that was administered when he first collapsed from the heart attack, instead of addressing the cardiac and pulmonary problems, he ignored the signs of life Michael was showing, thus his inactions were a substantial factor in his