The husband died in 2000 after an aneurysm. The death, lawyers argued, could have been prevented if doctors had acted sooner.
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
Published November 11, 2003
CLEARWATER - A jury has awarded a $2-million medical malpractice verdict to a Belleair woman after her lawyers argued poor care led to her husband's death in 2000.
A Pinellas-Pasco jury on Friday deliberated 31/2 hours before returning the award to Colleen C. Pillat, 74, a retired diplomatic assistant, more than three years after her husband, Roland Pillat, 75, died of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.
The award was for past and future pain and suffering.
An attorney representing defendants in the suit, Dr. Mark Whiting and Morton Plant Mease Primary Care Inc., declined to comment except to say the verdict would be appealed. Two other doctors named in the original suit have previously reached confidential settlements with Pillat.
Wil Florin, an attorney representing Pillat, said doctors suspected Roland Pillat had symptoms of the aneurysm but waited 30 hours before giving him a CAT scan that would have verified the suspicion.
Once Pillat had the CAT scan, he was rushed into surgery. But by then, Florin said, he had lost a massive amount of blood and died several hours afterward.
Florin said Pillat could have been saved by a faster confirmation of the diagnosis, but apparent miscommunication between doctors led to a delay.
"I think what this case really came down to is what so many medical malpractice cases come down to: There is just a breakdown in communication that exists among health care providers," Florin said in an interview.
Pillat's problems began in August 2000 when he suffered progressive leg weakening. Within a week, he suffered intense back pain and was told to go to the hospital by Whiting, Florin said.
Once at Morton Plant Hospital, Pillat waited for the CAT scan.
During a weeklong trial, testimony differed on some of the reasons for the delay.
Whiting testified that an emergency room doctor told him he had ruled out an aneurysm after an exam. The emergency room doctor said he told Whiting more testing was needed.
As Pillat waited, his symptoms became more severe, Florin said. He developed a severely accelerated heartbeat. He began vomiting. He was dehydrated. Tests indicated internal bleeding.
Though Pillat's aneurysm was a slow bleeder, it was too late to save him by the time the problem was diagnosed, said Florin, who tried the case with partner Tom Roebig. Colleen Pillat, who had been married to her husband for 24 years before his Aug. 23, 2000, death, could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Pillat, who earned a doctorate in economics and engineering from the University of Vienna, was born in Austria and moved to Florida from Paris in 1983. He worked in real estate and investment.
