ENGLE CAROBINI COVNER & COATS LLP

 A Santa Maria Court recently granted summary judgment in favor of Ben Coats client, a local physician, in a lawsuit alleging negligence in failing to diagnose the disease which caused his death a day after admission to the hospital. The court agreed with Mr. Coats argument that the plaintiffs could not prevail at trial based on undisputed evidence.  

Martindale Hubbell, the premier attorney rating service has awarded Benjamin F. Coats an AV rating, its highest rating in an evaluation of legal skills.  The AV rating is an objective indicator that a lawyer has the highest ethical standards and professional ability in his field.  

Andrew Covner of EC3 successfully obtained summary judgment for a gastroenterologist who was sued over the performance of a Capsule Endoscopy (CE) examination. The doctor had initially suspected Crohns disease, but when testing did not establish a definitive diagnosis he performed the CE which showed severe Crohns disease. The symptoms initially improved after treatment, but returned over a year later. An abdominal x-ray showed the CE capsule was still in her abdomen and surgery was necessary to remove it. The Court granted summary judgment in favor of the doctor thus avoiding the need for a trial.

Dan Carobini recently joined three other experts with Lorman Education Services in presenting a day-long seminar in Santa Barbara entitled "Understanding the Impact of Health Care Reform." Attendees from the medical, legal, insurance and human resources professions learned about reporting obligations, tax law changes, compliance issues and legal challenges to the recent legislation, while gaining strategies for dealing with the ongoing implementation of both the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act.

In a recently published opinion, the California Second District Court of Appeal, Division Six has upheld a verdict in favor of two Ventura surgeons rendered by a jury in May of 2008. The target defendant at trial was represented by Ben Coats of EC3. The physicians, had placed and subsequently removed latex surgical drains in a patient who developed a fluid collection in his pelvis after cancer surgery and post-surgical therapy. The patient continued to experience symptoms and a segment of drain was discovered remaining in his abdomen twenty months later. A Ventura jury decided that the doctors had complied with the medical standard of care while placing and removing the drains, and thus, the doctors were not negligent. On appeal, plaintiff contended that the trial court incorrectly instructed the jury by requiring the decision to be based on expert medical testimony. Plaintiff likened the situation to that of a surgical sponge or instrument left in a patient, wherein expert testimony would not be required for a finding of negligence. The Appellate Court disagreed, holding that the placement and later removal of surgical drains is a subject outside the common knowledge of a layman, and expert evidence is required to establish a deviation from the medical standard of care. (Scott v. Rayhrer 185 Cal.App.4th 1535.)

Engle Carobini Covner & Coats LLP is pleased to announce the hiring of Melanie J. Murphy, Esq. as an Associate Attorney. Ms. Murphy is a recent graduate of Ventura College of Law and has been employed by Engle Carobini Covner & Coats LLP as a legal assistant for the past four years. She has also worked for the Law Offices of Susan N. Holmes and completed an internship with Caron Smith, the Family Law Case Coordinator Attorney, at the Ventura County Superior Court. She recently passed the California Bar Examination on her first attempt. Ms. Murphy plans to specialize in medical malpractice defense, general civil litigation, estate planning and probate.

Dan Carobini of Engle Carobini Covner & Coats has been elevated to the rank of Associate in the American Board of Trial Advocates. ABOTA seeks to admit attorneys who display skill, civility and integrity, to help younger attorneys achieve a higher level of trial advocacy and to educate the public about the vital importance of the Seventh Amendment and Dan truly exemplifies these principles.

Engle Carobini Covner & Coats attorney Andrew Covner was recently selected for membership in the California Medical Legal Committee. Membership is limited to 30 medical malpractice attorneys from Southern California and 30 from Northern California. He joins fellow EC3 attorney Benjamin J. Engle as a member of the committee.

Ben Coats successfully defended an interventional cardiologist accused of malpractice in a Ventura courtroom in February. The plaintiff alleged the physician was negigent in placing stents in her renal branch areteries for treatment of her Fibromuscular Dysplasia, a condition which causes restriction of the blood flow, hypertension, and can lead to kidney damage. With the aid of expert testimony and high technology, Coats was able to persuade the jury that stenting was an acceptable and appropriate treatment for the condition. This was the fourth defense verdict for Coats in the last nine months. The other cases involved two claims of wrongful death and one of severe and permanent brain damage in a 25 year old man.

A Ventura jury unanimously found in favor of the defense led by Benjamin Coats of EC3 in a three week long jury trial in Ventura. The wrongful death suit, brought by the father of an eighteen year old girl who was killed in a traffic accident in 2005, alleged the City of Simi Valley was responsible for maintaining a dangerous condition by placing a number of 3,500 pound concrete blocks next to the shoulder of West Los Angeles Avenue. The twelve jurors agreed that the blocks did not constitute a dangerous condition of public property.

Ben Coats and Dan Carobini of Engle Carobini Covner & Coats LLP obtained a unanimous verdict in favor of their client, an on duty police officer accused of negligently hitting a pedestrian while on patrol in his police cruiser. The plaintiff had crashed his own vehicle while intoxicated and was fleeing the scene when he ran in front of the police car.  He suffered serious injuries including significant brain damage as a result of the accident. His attorneys argued that the officer had sufficient time to stop before striking him and was distracted by his police duties. They requested a jury award of 21.2 million dollars. Mr. Coats and Mr. Carobini convinced the jury that the plaintiff darted out in front of the police vehicle and the officer had no opportunity to avoid the accident. For more on this story see: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2009/nov/13/simi-police-officer-cleared/

Ben Coats and Ben Engle successfully defended the City of Simi Valley in the month long trial of a wrongful death case in the Simi Valley Courthouse. The case arose from a motor vehicle v. bicycle accident on Long Canyon Road in Simi Valley. Plaintiffs' decedent, an avid cyclist, was riding up Long Canyon Road when he was struck from behind by a motorist traveling 50 mph. Plaintiffs, the widow and step-children of the decedent, claimed the accident resulted from a dangerous condition of public property, and that the City admitted awareness of the condition by identifying the area for improvement in its bicycle transportation plan.  The jury disagreed and absolved the City of liability while returning a verdict of $675,000 against the driver of the vehicle.

After a lengthy trial in a Ventura courtroom, Benjamin J. Engle obtained a defense verdict on behalf of his client, a local physician. The trial, which stretched over portions of three months, was noteworthy not only for its successful outcome, but also in that it marked the 100th jury trial of Mr. Engle's career. The case, a wrongful death claim, involved allegations of negligence and elder/dependent adult abuse against the physician, a nurse and a convalescent hospital resulting in the death of a patient.

Andrew Covner of Engle Carobini Covner & Coats LLP obtained a dismissal of his two pediatrician clients on the third day of a medical malpractice trial in Ventura County Superior Court. Plaintiff had alleged the two pediatricians failed to diagnose a birth injury which left the minor plaintiff with severe and permanent brain damage. Defendants contended that the injury resulted from a traumatic injury which occurred after the birth, characterized as "Shaken Baby Syndrome," a claim which the child's parents successfully defended against in Juvenile Court proceedings. The extensive preparation and skillful argument by Mr. Covner in pre-trial motions resulted in a decision by plaintiff to dismiss the action on the third day of trial.

A Ventura jury delivered a defense verdict in favor of a surgeon represented by Ben Coats last week, in a trial where the plaintiff had alleged a foreign object was left inside him for a period of 20 months. The 11-1 finding on negligence was based on the physician's claim that he had complied with the standard of care in treating the plaintiff, and the delay in discovering the object resulted from a radiologist's failure to identify the object on multiple studies.