Plymouth Couple Wins $9M Verdict In Decade-Long Malpractice Suit

PLYMOUTH, CT — A jury has awarded a Plymouth couple a $9 million payout in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

James and Diana Griswold brought the suit against a Bridgeport medical practice after an imaging table collapsed under the husband in 2014. The suit contends that injuries the husband suffered to his back, neck and spine, along with subsequent follow-on ailments, were the result of the collapsing table and the medical practice's negligence.

The defendants named in the suit were Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists P.C. of Bridgeport, Dr. Michael Logue and Joyce Giannelli, a radiologic technologist at the practice.

In its verdict rendered last week following three weeks of deliberation at Waterbury Superior Court, the jury found Gianelli responsible for 100 percent of the damages, and Logue responsible for none.

The jury award allocated $3 million in economic damages to Mr. Griswold, $4 million more for pain and suffering, and $2 million to Mrs. Griswold for "loss of consortium." The jury also assigned another $5.4 million more in prejudgment interest, bringing the couple's total award to 14.4 million.

The suit stemmed from a visit by James Griswold, then 58, 6-foot inches tall and 340 pounds, to the defendant's offices for a nuclear stress imaging test. According to the complaint, Griswold had previously suffered from back problems and expressed concern about the durability of the table. Griswold was assured by employees of Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists that "in the past it had held persons bigger than he."

Shortly after he got atop it, "the table made a loud popping noise, and the head of the table fell to the floor with sudden force and violence, causing Mr. Griswold to suffer injury," according to the complaint.

Griswold required medical and surgical treatment for the injuries to his back, neck and spine. After the surgeries, he suffered septic emboli which led to a stroke, brain abscess, and other ailments. He is now unable to walk independently, and his speech is "permanently and significantly impaired," according to the complaint.