Jury Awards $7.4 Million in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against HMO

By Brian Vargo

Published on July 22, 2005

The Smelik family sued Humana Health Plan of Texas, claiming they provided unsatisfactory care to a severely ill woman. The family alleges doctors should have been monitoring Joan Smelik more closely and diagnosed her with kidney disease before her death, but put cost savings ahead of the woman's health.

The family, who did not know she had a deadly kidney disease until she died of blood poisoning in 2001, accused Humana of not acting according to its written standards and policies.

The Humana Health Plan of Texas denies any wrongdoing, claiming to have acted appropriately on all accounts and stated they approved every referral and paid every bill.

Jurors agreed to a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $7.4 million in damages. Before the jury could reach a total for punitive damages, an out-of-court agreement was made between the family and the HMO for $1.6 million.

The jury found the attending doctor, Dr. Michael W. Mann 50% responsible for Joan's death, and the physicians group 15% responsible. Humana could be liable for the remaining 35% of damage.

Humana, plans to appeal the verdict, claiming the jurors' sympathy for the Smelik family influenced their judgment.

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