Verdicts

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia recently declined to dismiss a diversity action for wrongful death brought by the estate of a man who was medically treated in Virginia, then moved to Idaho for a short time before his sudden death. Despite the fact that the man had lived in Idaho for only nine days, the court found adequate evidence that the deceased had changed his place of domicile from Virginia to Idaho prior to his death. Bagheri v. Bailey, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149859 (W. D. Va., 11/4/15).

Sean Matthew McKee went to Russell County Medical Center Emergency Department in Russell County, VA, on June 7, 2013, complaining of chest and back pain, shortness of breath, nausea, and a fever. Defendant Dwight L. Bailey, M.D., saw the patient, diagnosed him as suffering from acute bronchitis, and released him from care that same night. On June 12, McKee, along with his wife and two children, moved from Lebanon, VA, to Post Falls, ID, where Mrs. McKee's mother and brother lived. They arrived in Idaho on June 16 and moved in, temporarily, with the mother. Mr. and Mrs. McKee soon both interviewed for jobs at Qualfon (a call center), and both were offered positions, though there was some dispute during motion practice as to whether Mr. McKee had accepted the offered position. On June 25, 2013, Mr. McKee began to suffer from shortness of breath. Paramedics took him to the hospital, but he died soon after arrival. An autopsy showed that the cause of death was a pulmonary artery thromboembolism and bilateral pulmonary infarcts, which the plaintiff contends should have been diagnosed by Dr. Bailey on June 7.