On Dec. 29, 2009, plaintiff’s decedent Martin Lavergne, 63, a plumber, presented to the Sutter Medical Group in Sacramento and came under the care of Marion Leff, M.D., Lavergne’s primary care physician. Lavergne’s chief presenting complaint was shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. Leff noted that the patient was the fittest 63-year-old man she had seen and that the complaints might be attributable to increasing age. However, Lavergne died suddenly of a myocardial infarction while duck hunting the next morning. The decedent’s wife, Hilda Lavergne, sued Sutter Medical Group and Leff, alleging that the defendants failed to timely diagnose, treat or refer her husband for proper treatment, and that these failures constituted medical malpractice. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the defendants should have performed an in-office resting EKG, and/or referred the patient directly to the emergency room for further cardiac workup, and/or referred the patient STAT to a cardiology specialist with instructions to not perform any exertional activity until evaluated by the specialist. Counsel asserted that the defendants’ failure to any of those things caused the decedent’s wrongful death. Leff testified that her chart note indicated that the patient’s lack of health insurance did not influence her treatment recommendations. Defense counsel contended an EKG and further workup were not required by the standard of care, as the history indicated the absence of any chest complaints and infrequent shortness of breath that appeared to be occurring primarily at altitude. Thus, counsel contended that there were minimal risk factors and that the timing was such that the sudden death caused by a 96-percent blockage of the left anterior descending coronary artery would likely have occurred even with earlier diagnosis of the cardiac condition., Lavergne suffered a 96-percent blockage of the left anterior descending coronary artery, resulting in a myocardial infarction. He subsequently died suddenly on the morning of Dec. 30, 2009. He is survived by his wife of many years. Thus, the decedent’s wife sought recovery of wrongful death damages.