Professional Negligence Law Reporter

Eula Mae Davis, who had undergone a kidney transplant and took the immunosuppressant Prograf to prevent organ rejection, was admitted to the PruittHealth North Augusta nursing home. When orders were written for Davis’s medications the following month, Davis’s treating physician assistant (PA) and the nursing home failed to continue the order for Prograf. Davis was subsequently hospitalized for an infection and was then readmitted to the nursing home. The PA again failed to continue Davis on Prograf or reconcile her medication list.

After Davis was transferred to a different PruittHealth facility, she developed abnormal kidney function. She was admitted to a hospital, where it was discovered that she had been off her immunosuppressant medication for a long time without explanation. Davis’s kidney failure did not improve, and she required dialysis until her subsequent death.

Davis’s personal representative sued PruittHealth North Augusta, LLC; related Pruitt entities; and internist Guillermo Amurao, PruittHealth North Augusta’s medical director, alleging the defendants failed to ensure that Davis remained on her immunosuppressant medication, among other things.

The parties settled for $1 million. The Pruitt defendants paid $550,000, and the physician paid the rest.

Citation: Smalls v. Ard, No. 2019-CP-02-01464 (S.C. Ct. Com. Pl. Aiken Cty. Mar. 17, 2020).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Jennifer Spragins Burnett, Anderson, S.C.