$2.2 million verdict for medical mistake

Karl Truman

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A $2.2 million damages verdict was obtained on behalf of a widower of a 68 year old woman in Marion County, Indiana. The case involved a woman with a history of a fatty liver requiring a liver transplant and leading to the development of heart disease. As a result of her condition, she underwent heart bypass surgery and valve replacement. While the surgery was a technical success, a surgical foam pad was inadvertently left inside the woman at the conclusion of the surgery. When the pad was discovered a month later, it had become stuck to her heart and multiple peroforations occurred when the pad was removed, resulting in a five-week-long, painful death from mulit-system organ failure.

Initially, liability was contested as the hospital and surgeon claimed the other was responsible for the pad's removal. After the decision of the medical review panel, liability was determined and the damages case was tried against the Patient's Compensation Fund. The primary dispute was over the value of the case, given the decedent's age of 68 and because she had a decreased life expectancy prior to the malpractice given her liver transplant, heart disease and other conditions.

The case was tried in Marion County in June 2009 and damages were determined to be $2.2 million. Under the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act, the judge was required to reduce the damages to the statutory cap of $1.25 million.

The case was tried by Tony Patterson of Parr Richey Obremskey Frandsen & Patterson.