$18M Verdict To Phoenixville Woman In Malpractice Case Is High: Lawyer

WEST CHESTER, PA —An $18 million jury verdict July 22 against a certified nurse practitioner for misdiagnosing breast cancer is excessive and should “shock the conscience,” a defense lawyer wrote in a post-trial motion filed with Chester County Judge Edward Griffith.

Philadelphia Attorney Jacqueline Promislo asked Griffith to reconsider the verdict against Eileen Carpenter, a certified nurse practitioner with Axia Women’s Health, Strafford, Tredyffrin Township.

Kerri Downes filed a civil lawsuit against Axia Women’s Health on Dec. 26, 2019, accusing the medical provider of improperly treating her for a lump on her breast.

The jury determined that Carpenter was negligent for not ordering a breast imaging test for Downes, delaying the treatment for nine months.

The jury deliberated for 90 minutes.

Promislo said the jury verdict outweighed the evidence presented at trial.

She asked the judge to dismiss the verdict, or order a new trial or reduce the damages.

“Under the circumstances, the jury’s $18 million verdict rendered against Nurse Carpenter should shock the conscience of the court and it is plainly excessive and exorbitant,” Promislo wrote in the 50-page motion to reconsider the jury verdict.

Promislo said the verdict was likely due to improper jury instructions that Axia would be responsible for a verdict against Carpenter.

Matt Casey, a Philadelphia lawyer representing Downes, said he will be filing a response later this month.

“My law firm will be filing Kerri Downes’ response to this baseless Axia motion in the coming days,” Casey said. “The sad fact of the matter is that Nurse Practitioner Carpenter, after many years of denials, finally admitted during the jury trial that she should have obtained an ultrasound in March of 2018, which would have prevented the local metastasis of Kerri’s cancer.”

Downes, now 26, is a registered nurse who works in the Emergency Department at Paoli Hospital.

She is married.

She graduated from Immaculata University with a degree in nursing. She earned an certification to become an Emergency Medical Technician and was a volunteer firefighter.

Promislo said Carpenter was one of the most experienced providers at the practice and had the longest tenure, as she had been practicing at Axia since 1993.

The defense attorney asked the judge to allow supplemental motions after a review of the trial transcripts.

Chester County Court officials confirmed this was the “largest known” award in a civil case other than a sealed case, the details of which are not public record.