Gary Scott recently was successful in obtaining summary judgment in a state court medical malpractice action filed against a nursing home client of Hirst Applegate. The case arose from an incident in which a resident of the nursing home was inadvertently administered the wrong medication, causing the resident to be hospitalized. Subsequently, after discharge from the hospital the resident passed away, with the immediate cause of death being cancer. However during discovery plaintiff`s expert witness testified that it was his opinion within a reasonable degree of medical probability that the medication error hastened the resident`s death to some extent. Based upon that testimony a motion for summary judgment was filed, which argued that under Wyoming law if a person`s death is caused by the alleged wrongful act of another, the sole remedy is an action for wrongful death. The plaintiff in this instance had not brought a wrongful death case, but instead had filed a survival action. The Court found that since the plaintiff`s proof was that the former resident`s death had been hastened by the medication error, the sole remedy was a wrongful death action. The Court dismissed the plaintiff`s complaint with prejudice. 

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Dale Cottam has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the specialties of Administrative Law, Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law and Real Estate Law.

For over a quarter of a century, Best Lawyers has been regarded - by both the profession and the public - as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States. Selection to Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than 2.5 million confidential evaluations of the top attorneys in the country.

Mr. Cottam`s practice is focused primarily in the areas of public utilities, energy law, creditors` rights, and real estate. He has extensive experience representing utility clients and consumer groups before the Public Service Commission where he has handled numerous contested case hearings through final decision and appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court. Mr. Cottam also represents business and real estate clients in numerous arbitrations and bench trials in state courts throughout Wyoming.

Hirst Applegate Website