A jury handed down an $84 million malpractice verdict against Fairview Health Services on Tuesday, finding that a clinician failed to adequately respond to a patient's chest pain before he died of a heart attack while working out in his basement. The patient, 53-year-old Reece Devlin, had raised the same complaint twice in the months before his death — once in person and once during a virtual follow-up — and computer records ultimately called into question what his care team actually did about it.
Devlin's family argued his physician assistant failed to thoroughly evaluate his chest pain during an October 2022 visit to M Health Fairview's Uptown clinic, then failed to check on it again during a virtual follow-up three months later, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. Devlin died on January 29, 2023, less than a week after that virtual visit, according to the same report. His obituary, published by the Star Tribune's obituary page, confirms he was 53 and living in Minneapolis at the time of his death; he had also lived in Perth, Western Australia, and worked as an executive with Ernst & Young.
A Jury Trial That Turned on What Actually Happened
The weeklong trial did not hinge on a dispute over the proper standard of care — both sides largely agreed on what should have been done. Instead, the case turned on whether that care was actually delivered, the Star Tribune reported. During the October 2022 visit, the Fairview clinician ordered an electrocardiogram to check the electrical activity of Devlin's heart after he complained of chest pain, but the clinician's account of reviewing Devlin's prior executive physical records from Mayo Clinic was undercut by computer records, according to attorney Brandon Thompson, who represented the family.
Thompson argued that during the relevant window, the practitioner instead visited a different patient and checked the records of 11 other patients. The report notes the clinician was seeing as many as 20 patients a day. Computer records similarly contradicted the clinician's recollection that he had asked about Devlin's chest pain during the January 2023 follow-up visit, which had been scheduled as a medication check.
What an Earlier Conversation Might Have Changed
Had Devlin's chest pain come up during that January visit, it could have led to restricted physical activity or other medical interventions, per the same account. Instead, Devlin died days later while exercising. An autopsy found blockages in three blood vessels, including one that was 95% blocked — the kind of blockage that can trigger the irregular heartbeats or cardiac arrest associated with a heart attack when arteries supplying the heart muscle become clogged.
Thompson said the case stood out from typical malpractice trials precisely because the two sides so often agreed on what should have happened, differing only over whether it actually did. He called it a stark reminder for providers to stay thorough during busy days or virtual visits, and argued that health systems should avoid overscheduling their clinicians. Devlin's attorney said the evidence raised doubts about whether Fairview had actually followed the standard of care it claimed to have met.
Fairview Responds, Family Reacts
In a statement, Fairview said it respectfully disagreed with the jury's verdict and continued to believe the care provided was evidence-based, while extending its deepest sympathies to Devlin's family. Fairview officials are weighing legal options in response to the verdict, the outlet reported. Jean Devlin, in a written statement, thanked the jury and said nothing will undo the loss suffered by her family.
How It Compares to Other Minnesota Verdicts
The $84 million figure ranks among the largest medical malpractice verdicts in Minnesota history, and part of its size reflected Devlin's future earnings potential as an Ernst & Young executive, according to the Star Tribune's reporting. The paper also pointed to a 2022 case in which a federal jury awarded $110 million to a college student whose knee injury wasn't adequately addressed by orthopedic specialists in St. Cloud — an award later reduced to $10 million. A separate account from law firm Lathrop GPM describes that same general timeframe differently, reporting that a federal jury awarded $111 million on May 17, 2022, in Thapa v. St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates over an alleged failure to diagnose and treat compartment syndrome — which it called Minnesota's largest malpractice verdict to date, built from roughly $500,000 in past medical expenses, $800,000 in future medical expenses, $10 million for past pain and suffering, and $100 million for future pain and suffering. The two accounts describe the outcome of that case differently, and the dossier does not resolve which figure reflects the case's final status.
Under Minnesota law, damages awarded by a jury are not necessarily the final word. State statute allows a court, upon motion and proper proof before judgment, to reduce damages by payments already made to the person entitled to them, according to the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. Separate provisions governing wrongful-death actions, also published by the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, allow certain funeral expenses and court-approved support demands to be deducted first, with punitive damages permitted only as provided elsewhere in state law. It remains unclear whether the $84 million verdict in Devlin's case will be altered through any post-trial proceedings.
