Widow of Atlanta cop who died during three-way sex is awarded $3 million

[dognose]

A jury in Gwinnett County, Ga., has awarded $3 million to the widow of an Atlanta police officer who died while having three-way sex, finding that his doctor was negligent in not properly diagnosing and treating his heart condition.

The decision came in a medical malpractice case filed by Sugeidy Martinez, the widow of police officer William Martinez, against Dr. Sreenivasulu Gangasani of Lawrenceville, Ga., and the Cardiovascular Group, where Gangasani is a board-certified cardiologist, according to WXIA-TV.

According to court documents cited by the television station, William Martinez and a friend were having three-way sex with a woman who was not his wife at a hotel near Atlanta’s airport on March 12, 2009. Around 3 a.m., he fell off the bed and became unresponsive. EMTs couldn’t revive him and he was pronounced dead less than an hour later at a hospital.

The cause of death was determined to be atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, or hardening of the artery.

“The type of sex that he was engaged in is the type that’s totally unacceptable in our community,” said Rod Edmond, attorney for the Martinez family, WXIA reported. “But the fact of the matter is this man could have died running on the treadmill, running after a criminal.”

Martinez’s widow claimed Gangasani did not properly diagnose Martinez’s high blood pressure, chest pains, shortness of breath and irregular heartbeat, and that he did not order Martinez to avoid strenuous physical activity until more tests could be done.

On May 29, a Gwinnett County jury agreed, finding Gangasani negligent. But jurors also concluded that William Martinez was 40 percent responsible for his own death, and reduced the award to his widow from $5 million to $3 million, according to WXIA.

Gangasani’s attorney, Page Powell, told WXIA the verdict would be appealed. Powell said the Gangasani “did everything he could” to prevent Martinez’s death but Martinez had a history of not following his doctor’s orders, which included refraining from strenuous activity.

Martinez left behind his wife and two sons, ages 7 and 9.

SOURCE:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/...-died-during-three-way-sex-awarded-flna823334

 

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[robertk]

But jurors also concluded that William Martinez was 40 percent responsible for his own death .... Martinez had a history of not following his doctor’s orders, which included refraining from strenuous activity.

He was 100% responsible if you ask me. This is the kind of person that would ignore the "caution: do not operate overhead" warning on his lawn mower.

 

[gemee]

omg....the world has gone mad.

 

[Gare]

I HEARD HE A GIANT SMILE on his face at the FUNERAL

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I HEARD HE A GIANT SMILE on his face at the FUNERAL

The widow should have insisted on a closed casket!

 

[Gare]

Robert K and Gemee are so CORRECT !! Where is this world headed

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Um, how do you explain to the 7 and 9 year old boys what 3 way sex is?

 

[robertk]

Um, how do you explain to the 7 and 9 year old boys what 3 way sex is?

"Well, kids, it's like a tricycle, and if you pedal too hard, you die."

 

[RGINN]

Thank God the press got the word out to the rest of the nation before one of us fell into the same fatal trap. That is newsworthy news, and may save some lives. Slow day down at the news office I guess.

 

[Crow]

A very sad state of affairs

While Martinez sexual activity is his own personal choice, that lead to his death through misadventure. I feel sorry that his poor cheated on wife left with two kids to raise without a father regardless of his or her faults. There is question why was he straying to begin with? Maybe the sexual relationship had deteriorated at home? But we can also question Martinez own ethical character having outside extramarital sex is not against the law. But it was still cheating against his wife, that goes against his marriage vows. This questions his integrity. His death by sexual misadventure and reckless behavior left his wife and kids perhaps in financial distress. This is where vulture lawyers pray on desperate people. Ask your how much of that 3 million will end up in the pockets of lawyers?

With all of this sorry state of affairs the real victim is the doctor in question. You cannot make a patient take advice. Yet he was successfully sued by vulture lawyers not interested in justice but making a quick buck. And that is what is wrong with legal system that has been corrupted by scumming money over the ethical pursuit of justice.

The ramifications of such a decision in court to award damages in my view should of been thrown out of court. The cost of a judgement like this and others this will drive up insurances costs thus driving up costs to see a doctor for you and me. So in effect we are all victims of cases like this.

If America has any chance to make America great again you need to de monetize the legal system. It has become an industry in pursuit of money and not justice.

Crow

 

[Terry Soloman]

Crow said, "ramifications."

 

[Red-Coat]

Bizarre!

Martinez died on 13 March 2009, although the case was not settled in court until 29 May 2012.

After an appointment with cardiologist Dr. Sreenivasulu Gangasani where he complained of "increasing episodes of new chest pain that radiated into his arm," Gangasani determined that he was at "high risk" of having clogged heart arteries and ordered a nuclear stress test to be done eight days later. Martinez died a day before the test was scheduled.

Attorneys for Dr. Gangasani and the Lawrenceville CardioVascular Group contended that Martinez was in fact "instructed to avoid exertional activity until after the nuclear stress test was completed" but the Martinez family argued that no such instruction was given and the jury agreed. Attorney Gary Lovell Jr. said afterwards that both the verdict and the settlement would be appealed: "On behalf of our clients, we will be pursuing post-judgement motions with the trial court and, at the appropriate time, further appeals of the case as necessary."

I could find no record of any appeals so, presumably, the verdict and the amount of the settlement stood. Gangasani’s career doesn’t seem to have suffered. He has been a member of the Georgia Composite Medical Board since 2021 and served as Vice-Chair for the year 2023-24.

In the US, cardiologists are the most frequently named profession in medical malpractice actions and the New England Journal of Medicine reported in 2011 that they have a roughly 1 in 5 chance of being sued in any given year.

I’m curious as to what persuaded the jury in this case to give credence to the Martinez family’s testimony that he hadn’t been warned by Dr. Gangasani. I’m pretty sure that it would have gone the other way in the UK (and even if not, the settlement would have been much smaller), even though we theoretically have the same burden of proof for civil cases such as this. In the UK we call it “balance of probabilities” (as opposed to the higher burden of “beyond reasonable doubt” for criminal cases) which is essentially the same as the US “preponderance of evidence.” The standard is met if the proposition is more likely to be true than not true (simplistically interpreted as 51% likely.)

There’s no way of knowing what advice Dr. Gangasani actually gave; the extent to which Martinez was inclined to heed it; whether Martinez shared any of that advice with his family; or whether the Martinez family were truthful about it if he had shared it.

 

[Crow]

Crow said, "ramifications."

Ha ha ha! a fitting word amigo! It appears more one than one person ramming in this case! Well officer Martinez got to hand it to him he died shooting his gun.

Yeah I know God hates me! He gave others shot guns I only got a cap pistol.

Crow

 

[Crow]

Robert K and Gemee are so CORRECT !! Where is this world headed

You know the scary thing? We are not heading there? We are already there!

Crow

 

[robertk]

After an appointment with cardiologist Dr. Sreenivasulu Gangasani where he complained of "increasing episodes of new chest pain that radiated into his arm," Gangasani determined that he was at "high risk" of having clogged heart arteries and ordered a nuclear stress test to be done eight days later. Martinez died a day before the test was scheduled.

Now maybe it's just me, but if my doctor told me I was likely to have clogged heart arteries and ordered a stress test to be sure, I would have (a) asked if I needed to do anything special, and (b) would not have needed to be told not to do anything strenuous (or stupid). How a jury found this to be the doctor's fault -- regardless of whether he specifically advised the guy or not -- is beyond me.

 

[Red-Coat]

Now maybe it's just me, but if my doctor told me I was likely to have clogged heart arteries and ordered a stress test to be sure, I would have (a) asked if I needed to do anything special, and (b) would not have needed to be told not to do anything strenuous (or stupid). How a jury found this to be the doctor's fault -- regardless of whether he specifically advised the guy or not -- is beyond me.

For sure that would be the case over here, but seemingly in your litigation-bonkers country, folks seem to be inclined to get lawyered-up in any situation where they aren't explicitly warned of danger.

I long remember buying a souvenir in New York for my young nephew: a small inflatable model of the Empire State building with King Kong hanging off the side. There was a stern legal warning in bold letters on the packaging that said: "This inflatable toy is not to be used as a life preserver in oceans, lakes, lagoons, ponds, rivers, swimming pools, or other large bodies of water." I though the additional clarification of "other large bodies of water" was priceless given I struggled to think of any others beyond those already mentioned.

Maybe I could still have sued if he drowned in a canal.

 

[Grizz12]

I had a VA doctor refuse to give me tests that the ER doctors recommended because the tests were too expensive!! A year later I was in the ER again, flown via life flight to a bigger hospital and treated for heart issues. When I get back on my feet and went to the new heart doc, all his nurses came out to met me and called ma a walking miracle because I was alive and there is no other reason for me to be alive.

So yeah I think his doctor was/is an idiot and should be held accountable. His responsibility is to inform the patient and take care of him, if the patient refuses then it is on the patient

 

[DizzyDigger]

According to court documents cited by the television station, William Martinez and a friend were having three-way sex with a woman who was not his wife at a hotel near Atlanta’s airport on March 12, 2009. Around 3 a.m., he fell off the bed and became unresponsive. EMTs couldn’t revive him and he was pronounced dead less than an hour later at a hospital.

Why is it that the nastiest, weirdest and kinky-est stuff on the web always gets the most attention...

I can only imagine how the dude's wife felt when she got told: "Your husband and some other dude were doing some airport hooker in a hotel room, and well, he came and went at the same time. "

Have to wonder if she even shed a tear before she looked for a way to get money out of the deal.

 

[treasureguy56]

Why is it that the nastiest, weirdest and kinky-est stuff on the web always gets the most attention... View attachment 2198587

I can only imagine how the dude's wife felt when she got told: "Your husband and some other dude were doing some airport hooker in a hotel room, and well, he came and went at the same time. "

Have to wonder if she even shed a tear before she looked for a way to get money out of the deal.

Totally agree , apparently she wasnt too tore up about it