Opinion ID: 1659361
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Attempts at Concealment or Cover-up

Text: Within three hours of the procedure, Dr. Schulte told Mr. Smith that he had misplaced the endotracheal tube and that he had failed to discover the error for several minutes. The following day, he repeated this account to Mr. Smith and to Mr. Smith's daughter. Moreover, Dr. Schulte expressly noted the misplacement of the endotracheal tube on Mrs. Smith's medical chart. Without doubt, these admissions facilitated Smith's discovery of a cause of action and the prosecution of his case against Dr. Schulte and PAM. In view of the respiratory complications Mrs. Smith was experiencing independent of the intubation episode, the autopsy reportreferring only generally to oxygen deprivationdid not, of itself, afford a firm basis for a cause of action. Thus, had Dr. Schulte been less candid, the Smiths, and, ultimately, the jury, may never have learned of the distinct period of oxygen deprivation made the basis of this action. Such candor should be encouraged by affording it considerable weight in the overall punitive damages analysis. We, therefore, consider Dr. Schulte's admissions to the Smiths and notations in the medical chart a significant countervailing factor.