South Carolina Family Awarded $2M in Woman’s Death

A Spartanburg, S.C., woman’s family has been awarded $2 million in damages for her death five years ago.

A jury this week found in favor of the family of Janice G. Easler, the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg reported.

The family sued after Easler died at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center in 2009 where she had been admitted for nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

The jury’s finding involved Dr. Raja Paladugu, the only one of four co-defendants not to reach a settlement before a trial.

The hospital, Upstate Carolina Radiology and Dr. Joseph Kurkjian settled with Easley’s estate for $325,000 earlier this year.

Easler’s physical exam, lab evaluation, and scans should have prompted health care providers to suspect and rule out a medical condition, the lawsuit said. Their failure to do so violated the standard of care and led to Easler’s death, according to the suit

Paladugu’s attorney, Carl Lovell Jr., said he could not talk about the verdict because of a possible appeal.