Senate Bill sb0018

    Florida Senate - 2005        (NP)                        SB 18

    By Senator Fasano





    11-89-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the South Broward Hospital

  3         District; providing for the relief of Sharon

  4         Jurgrau, wife of Mark Jurgrau, deceased, and

  5         Megan Jurgrau, minor child of Mark and Sharon

  6         Jurgrau; providing for an appropriation to

  7         compensate them for the death of Mark Jurgrau

  8         as a result of the negligence of the South

  9         Broward Hospital District; providing an

10         effective date.

11  

12         WHEREAS, in the summer of 1999, Mark Jurgrau, an

13  architect, 38 years of age and a resident of Broward County,

14  underwent medical tests after exhibiting weakness and

15  shortness of breath while engaging in athletic activity, and

16         WHEREAS, the tests revealed that Mark Jurgrau had a

17  problem with the aortic valve of the heart, and as a result of

18  the diagnosis, he was advised to have surgery to replace the

19  aortic valve, and

20         WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau's doctors recommended a surgical

21  procedure known as the "Ross procedure" in which the patient's

22  own pulmonic valve is used to replace the aortic valve, and

23         WHEREAS, the procedure, commonly used in younger

24  patients, was chosen due to the fact that it is effective for

25  a very long period of time and does not require the patient to

26  take medications subsequent to surgery, and

27         WHEREAS, the Ross procedure was performed on Mark

28  Jurgrau on September 2, 1999, at Memorial Hospital, part of

29  the South Broward Hospital District, and

30         WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau tolerated the procedure well and

31  appeared to be doing fine, and

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    Florida Senate - 2005        (NP)                        SB 18
    11-89-05




 1         WHEREAS, the decision to replace Mark Jurgrau's aortic

 2  valve was a good decision, the choice of the Ross procedure

 3  was a sound choice, and the operation was performed ably and

 4  correctly, and

 5         WHEREAS, however, one of the risks of this procedure is

 6  the possible occurrence of internal bleeding at the location

 7  of the operation, and

 8         WHEREAS, internal bleeding following this procedure

 9  does occur from time to time, is easily recognizable and

10  readily treatable, and is not an indication of negligence per

11  se, and

12         WHEREAS, one of the primary reasons patients are kept

13  in the hospital following this type of surgery is so they can

14  be observed for complications, and

15         WHEREAS, the negligence in this case occurred in the

16  blatant failure of the employees of Memorial Hospital to

17  provide Mark Jurgrau with appropriate postoperative care, and

18         WHEREAS, following his operation, the management of

19  Mark Jurgrau's care was entrusted to a nurse, Kathy Kater,

20  ARNP, and

21         WHEREAS, the surgeon who operated on Mark Jurgrau never

22  saw him again, and Kathy Kater and the other hospital nurses

23  became Mark Jurgrau's health care team, and

24         WHEREAS, from the time of Mark Jurgrau's operation on

25  September 2, 1999, to the time of his death on September 6,

26  1999, Mark Jurgrau exhibited every possible sign and symptom

27  of internal bleeding, and

28         WHEREAS, in order to monitor for internal bleeding,

29  blood is drawn from a patient daily, and

30         WHEREAS, when a person is losing blood, laboratory

31  values drop as blood contents are used up, and

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    Florida Senate - 2005        (NP)                        SB 18
    11-89-05




 1         WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau's hematocrit, hemoglobin, and

 2  platelets were all plummeting, each day registering much lower

 3  than the day before, and

 4         WHEREAS, in the 5 days he was in Memorial Hospital,

 5  Mark Jurgrau's blood values fell to less than 30 percent of

 6  normal and nothing was ever done to help him, and

 7         WHEREAS, also, in order to determine if blood is

 8  accumulating in a patient's chest, X-rays are taken daily and

 9  the patient's breathing is monitored daily, and

10         WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau's X-rays showed his lungs filling

11  with blood, more each day than the day before, and

12         WHEREAS, his breathing decreased each day as the

13  portions of his lungs which were full of blood could no longer

14  transfer oxygen, and

15         WHEREAS, again, none of the staff at Memorial Hospital

16  paid attention to or acted upon these indications, and

17         WHEREAS, as Mark Jurgrau's blood became depleted and

18  his lungs filled with blood, he became deprived of oxygen,

19  which made him weak, dizzy, and disoriented, as evidenced by

20  the fact that his oxygen saturation fell precipitously, and

21         WHEREAS, despite the fact that all appropriate tests

22  were administered and all the results of those tests indicated

23  problems, no one at Memorial Hospital bothered to read or act

24  upon Mark Jurgrau's test results, and

25         WHEREAS, by September 5, 1999, Mark Jurgrau was dying,

26  slowly bleeding to death and drowning in his own blood, and

27         WHEREAS, as he became disoriented from lack of oxygen,

28  the hospital nurses called Nurse Kater, and

29         WHEREAS, without even coming in to the hospital to

30  observe Mark Jurgrau, Nurse Kater misdiagnosed him as having a

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005        (NP)                        SB 18
    11-89-05




 1  panic attack and, over the telephone, ordered Xanax to be

 2  administered to Mr. Jurgrau, and

 3         WHEREAS, on September 6, 1999, Mark Jurgrau's condition

 4  became critical, and

 5         WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau was gasping for air, turning pale

 6  and cold, and writhing in pain, and

 7         WHEREAS, Nurse Kater was again contacted, and again,

 8  via telephone, Nurse Kater misdiagnosed Mark Jurgrau as having

 9  a panic attack, and

10         WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau arrested and a code blue was

11  called, but it was too late, and

12         WHEREAS, Mark Jurgrau died at the age of 38, leaving

13  his wife of 8 years, Sharon Jurgrau, and a 4-year-old

14  daughter, Megan Jurgrau, and

15         WHEREAS, upon performing an autopsy, the medical

16  examiner confirmed what should have been apparent to the staff

17  of Memorial Hospital all along, that Mark Jurgrau died slowly

18  and painfully from undiagnosed internal bleeding, and

19         WHEREAS, the case was also reviewed by the world's

20  foremost authority in cardiac surgery, Dr. Dudley Johnson,

21  regarded as the father of cardiac surgery and, along with Dr.

22  Michael DeBakey, the co-inventor of the modern coronary bypass

23  operation, and

24         WHEREAS, Dr. Johnson confirmed that Mark Jurgrau's

25  death was unnecessary and unreasonable, and

26         WHEREAS, the negligence of Memorial Hospital in the

27  death of Mark Jurgrau was blatant and tragic, and

28         WHEREAS, at the time of his death, Mark Jurgrau was in

29  the beginning stages of a very successful career as an

30  architect, and

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005        (NP)                        SB 18
    11-89-05




 1         WHEREAS, based on his age and proven earning potential,

 2  economic damages alone were over $10 million, and

 3         WHEREAS, Mark and Sharon Jurgrau's daughter, Megan

 4  Jurgrau, now 9 years of age, has experienced emotional

 5  distress as a result of the death of her father, and

 6         WHEREAS, recognizing this as a case of egregious

 7  malpractice and catastrophic damages, the South Broward

 8  Hospital District settled the matter, tendering $200,000

 9  pursuant to the limits of liability established pursuant to

10  section 768.28, Florida Statutes, and agreeing to support a

11  claim bill in the amount of $500,000, NOW, THEREFORE,

12  

13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

14  

15         Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this

16  act are found and declared to be true.

17         Section 2.  The South Broward Hospital District is

18  authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the

19  district not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in

20  the sum of $500,000 payable to Sharon Jurgrau, wife of Mark

21  Jurgrau, deceased, as compensation for the death of Mark

22  Jurgrau as a result of the negligence of the South Broward

23  Hospital District.

24         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

25  law.

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

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