Professional Negligence Law Reporter

Katie Couch experienced severe abdominal pain. She went to Pickerington Emergency Department, where she underwent testing and a CT scan. She was then diagnosed as having pancreatitis and an order was entered for her to be transferred to another facility. She remained at the ER for the next 23 hours but allegedly was not evaluated or given fluids for many hours.

By the time EMTs arrived to complete the transfer, Couch had developed tachycardia. En route to the hospital, her blood pressure crashed, requiring the EMTs to give her a 500 cc bolus of saline. She died within 24 hours of arriving at the hospital.

Couch’s estate sued an ER physician and a staffing company, alleging improper evaluation and treatment of pancreatitis and cholangitis. Couch should have been given sufficient fluids, undergone additional imaging, and been administered antibiotics, the plaintiff argued.

The jury awarded over $2.9 million.

Citation: Couch v. Mid-Ohio Emergency Servs., LLC, No. 23-CV-696 (Ohio Ct. Com. Pl. Franklin Cnty. July 1, 2025).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Charles H. Cooper and Kaela King, both of Columbus, Ohio.