Professional Negligence Law Reporter

Frank Pearson, a 70-year-old man with a history of myocardial infarction, underwent a screening colonoscopy. Jennifer Humphreys, a CRNA employed by Carolina Anesthesia Associates, allegedly sedated Pearson with propofol. Approximately four minutes into the procedure, Pearson developed bradycardia. Humphreys administered two doses of robinul to increase Pearson’s heart rate.

Shortly after the procedure was finished, Pearson required ventilation with an AMBU bag and mask and was later noted to be in pulseless electrical activity arrest. A code was called, and Pearson was transported to a hospital, where he died approximately seven days later from a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. He had been a landscaper and is survived by his wife and two adult children.

Pearson’s wife, on behalf of his estate, sued Humphreys and Carolina Anesthesiology Associates, PA, alleging failure to timely recognize and treat an airway obstruction. The plaintiff asserted that although Pearson had undergone a complete cardiac workup seven months before the colonoscopy and was able to safely undergo the procedure under sedation, inadequate oxygen led to his cardiac arrest.

The jury awarded $1.36 million.

Citation: Pearson v. Humphreys, 20-CVS-4668 (N.C. Super. Ct. Guilford Cnty. Apr. 3, 2023).

Plaintiff counsel: John C. Hensley Jr., John C. Cloninger, and AAJ member Jordan L. Hensley, all of Asheville, N.C.