PHILADELPHIA – Litigation over the death of a woman in custody at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility four years ago recently been settled.
Philip J. Arcuri and Melanie Arcuri first filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Oct. 29, 2020 versus Montgomery County, the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, PrimeCare Medical, Inc. and a number of other individual defendants.
On Aug. 16, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Joel H. Slomsky overruled PrimeCare Medical, Inc.’s motion to preclude Dr. Lawrence Guzzardi, the plaintiff’s sole medical expert, which claimed he was neither a qualified expert witness, nor a reliable expert under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
“On Dec. 26, 2018, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Andrea Arcuri arrived at the Montgomery County Adult Probation Office for a required routine visit. At the office, she displayed several symptoms indicating she was under the influence of drugs. After probation officers determined that Andrea’s recent drug use violated the terms of her probation, they transported her to Montgomery County Correctional Facility at approximately 2:15 p.m.,” Slomsky stated.
“At MCCF, medical assistant Monycka Downing conducted a Receiving Screening at 3:19 p.m. An on-call medical provider ordered that detoxification medication be administered to Andrea starting the following day. The provider also ordered that Andrea be moved to the medical housing unit at the prison, which never happened. By about 3:35 p.m., Licensed Practical Nurse Nicole McFadden completed Andrea’s medical intake in which she noted that Andrea was dehydrated, so she gave her one cup of water and two cups of Gatorade. At 3:58 p.m., Corrections Officers escorted Andrea to Admissions Cell 9. Corrections officers walked past Admissions Cell 9 many times throughout that evening.”
At about 10:56 p.m., Slomsky explained that a corrections officer initiated a medical emergency after Andrea did not respond when the officer spoke to her, and she looked pale in the face. Shortly after, Emergency Medical Services transported Andrea to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 11:41 p.m.
“In his expert report, Dr. Guzzardi opined that PrimeCare employees should have transferred Andrea to the prison’s medical unit soon after her arrival and, had she been transferred to the medical unit and received routine medical care sooner, Andrea ‘was 100% likely to survive her drug related obtundation and dehydration.’ He stated that given Andrea’s medical history and behavior that day, caring for Andrea required ‘extra vigilance,’ which was not provided when PrimeCare employees allowed Andrea to be placed alone in Cell 9,” Slomsky said.
“Plaintiffs’ only remaining claims against PrimeCare are for medical negligence and a civil rights violation under 42 U.S.C. 1983. After initiating the present action, plaintiffs retained an expert witness, Guzzardi, to testify about the standard of care that was owed to Andrea during her time at MCCF and how defendant’s conduct on Dec. 26, 2018 did not meet that standard. In its motion to preclude Guzzardi from testifying at trial, PrimeCare argues that he should be barred from offering any standard of care testimony at trial because (1) he is not qualified and (2) his opinions are unreliable.”
Slomsky countered, however, that Guzzardi’s experience and education, in addition to having opinions based on valid scientific methodology and reasoning, made him a qualified witness.
“Dr. Guzzardi is qualified to provide expert testimony under Rule 702. As demonstrated by his Curriculum Vitae, Guzzardi is a physician who earned his medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in 1971. He became board-certified in family medicine, emergency medicine, and medical toxicology. From 2019 to the present, Guzzardi has been certified as a practitioner with the National Commission for Correctional Healthcare, a non-profit organization concerned with health care treatment in correctional facilities. He is a member of a consultant advisory group on jail accreditation of the American Medical Association and is a member and chairman of the accreditation committee at the National Committee of National Healthcare. In addition, Guzzardi has authored multiple publications covering medical care in correctional facilities,” Slomsky said.
“Dr. Guzzardi reviewed Andrea’s prior medical reports and the reports created during and after the nine hours Andrea was at MCCF. He used his experience and expertise as a physician to reach his conclusion that PrimeCare should have taken different measures in treating Andrea. His opinion was stated to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. Guzzardi’s opinion here is based on a review of similar kinds of records, his general experience, and his medical knowledge. Therefore, he is reliable and will be permitted to testify at trial. Once again, the reliability of his opinions may be tested by competing expert testimony and cross-examination at trial. For the foregoing reasons, defendant PrimeCare’s motion will be denied.”
UPDATE
After pre-trial memoranda were filed by both sides on Sept. 26 and Oct. 4, it was reported two weeks later that the case had been settled on Oct. 18. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
“It having been reported that the issues between the parties in the above action have been settled and upon order of the Court, pursuant to the provisions of Rule 41.1(b) of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure of this Court, it is ordered that this action is dismissed with prejudice, pursuant to agreement of counsel without costs,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells said.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 2:20-cv-05408
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com