Woods

WARWICK — Two friends who worked with Michael J. Woods and two nurses who dealt with him at Kent Hospital’s emergency room the day he died took turns on the witness stand in Kent County Superior Court yesterday, as lawyers for Woods’ estate laid the groundwork for their claim that he died because of hospital negligence.

Woods, 49, died in the Kent Hospital emergency room July 26, 2006, from a blocked coronary artery. The lawsuit, filed by Woods’ brother, Oscar-nominated actor James Woods on behalf of Michael’s son Peyton, claims hospital staff should have realized Michael Woods had a critical heart condition and taken steps that could have saved him.

The hospital’s lawyers say Kent doctors and staff were following proper medical procedures, trying to figure out what was wrong with Woods, when he was stricken. Even if the coronary condition had been identified quickly, they said, there wouldn’t have been enough time to prevent Woods’ death.

The lawyer for Woods’ estate, Mark B. Decof, used Tuesday’s testimony to compare and contrast the accounts that Woods’ friends and the hospital staff had of how the two-time Warwick mayoral candidate described his symptoms in the hours before he died.

Two of Woods’ friends said the usually ebullient man was out of sorts that day, complaining about pain in his throat unlike any he had experienced before. Two hospital nurses told the Kent County jury that the man they saw was dismissive of his symptoms, complaining that too big a deal was being made of them.

At the time of his death, Woods was employed by Aable Jewelers at Hoxsie Four Corners in Warwick, where he worked on Internet sales of collectibles and jewelry. The first witness, Bonnie Yoder, testified that Woods was usually joking and talkative in the office, but he was uncharacteristically quiet that day and complained of a pain in his throat that he described as “just weird.”

Roger Oliver, who also was at Aable that day, said Woods complained numerous times about throat pain. Oliver said he teased Woods about it, suggesting he had the mumps, but he said Woods got “a little angry” and said that it was not like the pain of a sore throat. He said Woods also said he had a metallic taste in his mouth.

The symptoms were serious enough that Woods went to the Kent Hospital emergency room at 4:25 p.m. He talked to triage nurse Mary Almeida, who took note of his describing a burning pain in his throat, swollen glands and two instances of vomiting.

She referred him to the “express care” section of the emergency room, which handles the least serious cases.

In his opening argument, Decof told the jury that when he investigated the case, he had problems finding adequate records that detailed what happened to Woods at the hospital. He used the testimony of nurse Sandra Beauchaine to back up that point.

Beauchaine said she saw Woods at 4:37 p.m., according a sheet started by Almeida. She testified that there was something about him, nothing obvious or specific, that made her seek out the doctor on duty in her section for a closer examination. That doctor had Woods transferred to the treatment unit where more serious cases were handled.

Beauchaine acknowledged that she didn’t create a chart for Woods when he came into her unit, as she should have according to hospital rules. She said she couldn’t explain why.

Decof repeatedly asked Beauchaine if she sought out the doctor because she thought Woods’ condition was serious and she deferred, saying she “just felt it would be better” if a doctor saw him.

Decof then read a part of a November 2008 deposition Beauchaine had given in the case, in which she said she sought the doctor because in Woods’ case, she thought “there was something more going on than a sore throat.” Beauchaine said that statement was accurate.

On cross-examination, hospital lawyer David W. Carroll had Beauchaine testify about a form in her handwriting that listed medications Woods was taking for hypertension and gastric reflux. But on redirect, Decof noted that the form was not dated or initialed, nor was there any record of when it was created.

jhill@projo.com