A 78 year old male was diagnosed with coronary artery disease and underwent triple coronary artery bypass surgery on March 7, 2001. The surgery was successful. On March 8, he developed what appeared to be either atrial fibrillation which is a condition that causes the blood in the heart to pool and results in the risk of clots forming in the heart or SVT as noted in the record.

The atrial fibrillation returned again on March 10, a Saturday. The patient was seen by a covering cardiothoracic surgeon and spontaneously converted back to normal sinus rhythm within three hours. The patient remained in normal sinus rhythm for 24 hours (though he did experience premature atrial contractions) and was discharged by the covering physician on Sunday, four days following the surgery.

Within 65 hours of discharge, the patient suffered a massive right hemispheric stroke causing serious left sided deficits. He was transported to the emergency room and found to be in atrial fibrillation in the emergency room. Subsequent to the stroke and as a result of the stroke, the patient suffered seizures, depression and suicidal ideation. The patient has been totally disabled since the stroke. Plaintiffs claimed that the patient was discharged too soon following the surgery, without proper anticoagulation, and without a monitor to ascertain whether he remained in sinus rhythm or reverted to atrial fibrillation. The defendant denied any liability and had several experts testify that the standard of care was met.