Widower testifies in late wife’s wrongful death trial
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A widower took the stand Thursday, sobbing at times, testifying about how his 59-year-old wife’s condition worsened after complications from her April 2003 colonoscopy — and the day he decided to pull the plug. “It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life,” Melvin Dill said, crying as he testified during questioning by his attorney, Robert Spector of Fort Lauderdale. “She wasn’t going to get better. If she did recover she would have been in a nursing home for the rest of her life, so I asked to have life support pulled.” Testifying just feet away from a poster-sized photo of himself in a Marine uniform with his late wife, Judith Dill, he began sobbing and during a short break, he took deep breaths, drank water and wiped away tears before continuing. He testified her death occurred a month before her 60th birthday and that when her cremated body was buried, family and friends sang “Happy Birthday” to say goodbye. Melvin Dill’s testimony came on the third day of a medical malpractice wrongful death trial involving Judith Dill’s death on April 25, 2003. She was his wife of 38 years, but they’d known each other since they were 8. The Dills lived in Virginia, but Judith Dill visited her father at Citrus Park in Bonita Springs yearly. Judith Dill had gone to Naples Community Hospital, now called Downtown Naples Hospital, for a knee replacement on April 4, 2003, which was successful. But Naples gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Marks of Consultants in Gastroenterology was called in for a consultation four days later after Dill, who often felt ill after anesthesia, had vomited and felt nauseated. Marks performed an endoscopy on April 9 and on April 12, the colonoscopy. During the colonoscopy, Dill vomited violently, aspirating her vomit, which went into her lungs, later causing infection and death on April 25, 2003. Marks is the only defendant at trial before Collier Circuit Judge Lawrence Martin and a jury. NCH Health Care System/North Collier Hospital, anesthesiologist Dr. Michael Nolan and Collier Anesthesia all settled for an undisclosed sum. Tracy DiGiacomo, a certified nurse anesthetist who also worked for Collier Anesthesia, was dismissed from the lawsuit and testified at trial. On Wednesday, Harvard gastroenterologist Dr. Ciaran P. Kelly, an expert witness, testified that Judith Dill’s condition was caused by a post-operative ileus, which acts like a blockage because it prevents passage of intestinal contents. Kelly agreed with Naples radiologist Dr. John Ryan’s opinion, which was given to Marks before he operated, and said Judith Dill’s condition is common after operations and that other non-risky procedures would easily have cleared it up. Kelly testified her diagnosis was clear from X-rays and CAT scans, an ileus, as Ryan wrote in his report. Marks read the report, but didn’t look at the films. Although Marks, who testified Wednesday, blamed the anesthesiologist for Judith Dill’s death, Kelly said Marks should never have ordered a bowel preparation, magnesium citrate, because Judith Dill hadn’t eaten in eight days. Because of the ileus, the high-salt liquid had no place to go, putting the colon at risk of bursting and Dill at risk of aspirating. Marks contends he feared her colon was about to burst and that she had a blockage, but he also wanted to decompress her colon. Kelly, however, said Marks’ notes don’t reflect that a decompression colonoscopy was performed. Melvin Dill testified Thursday he was only told of a routine colonoscopy to rule out a blockage. Melvin Dill praised pulmonologist Dr. John Muir for keeping him apprised of everything while she was on life support. Muir testified Thursday that Judith Dill’s oxygen needs were increasing, her body was failing and she wasn’t going to recover. Melvin Dill, a former Marine, General Motors employee and emergency medical technician, testified his daughters won’t accept his new 37-year-old wife, Betty, an administrative assistant for the U.S. Marine Corps. in Virginia, and they won’t let him see his three grandchildren. Proceedings were stopped for about 1 ½ hours after a deputy found a nursing magazine article about bowel obstructions lying on the jury room table. The article mentioned an obstruction and colonoscopy and detailed a hypothetical situation, asking nurses what they would do. Eight jurors, including two alternates, were questioned separately and one, a consultant nurse, admitted she’d brought in the magazine, unaware of the article, but read it and mentioned it to another nurse on the jury. Spector and Marks’ attorney, Jay Chimpoulis of Davie, decided to excuse the consultant nurse. The judge cautioned jurors again they’re only to get information on the case from the witnesses, attorneys, and himself, and reiterated his warning not to read newspaper articles about it or discuss it. The trial continues at 9:30 a.m. Monday, when Marks’ defense begins, with expert witnesses, and possibly Marks testifying again. Closing arguments are expected Tuesday morning. |