Almost seven years into this lawsuit, after discovery had been closed and with a summary judgment deadline looming, the defendants in this case, Dr. Partha Ghosh and Wexford Health Sources Inc., raised the affirmative defense of res judicata for the first time. This was an unexpected motion to dismiss an…
Articles Posted in Surgical Errors
$500,000 Jury Verdict in Medical Malpractice Case for Negligent Use of Metallic Surgical Staples
Heather Effler was seen at a hospital’s emergency room where she was diagnosed as having an infected urachal cyst. A urachal cyst has been defined as a collection of tissue and fluid between the bladder and the belly button. In most cases, this cyst forms as a remnant of the…
$3.9 Million Settlement for Surgeon’s Negligence in Failure to Conduct Temporal Artery Biopsy
After undergoing a temporal artery biopsy on an outpatient basis by a general surgeon, Jacqueline Childs developed swelling and paralysis on the right side of her face. She was subsequently diagnosed as having facial nerve neuropathy. Childs has undergone steroid injection treatments for her facial pain and will require monthly…
$893,400 Jury Verdict for Negligence in Causing Bowel Injury During Hysterectomy
Dr. Gary Lovell, a gynecologist, performed a hysterectomy procedure on Karri Tingey. She was 49 years old at the time. After this procedure, Dr. Lovell reported that he had discovered and repaired a superficial tear on her sigmoid colon. He did not tell Tingey or her husband, Within three days…
$7.43 Million Jury Verdict for Negligent Gallbladder Surgery
Howard Kinch was 34 when he underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed by general surgeon Dr. Christopher Touloukian. One week after the surgery, Kinch was re-hospitalized and diagnosed as having bile in his abdomen. Kinch was transferred to another hospital so that he could receive an external drain. The drain mechanism…
State Supreme Court Rules Medical Malpractice Expert Was Not Qualified to Testify
Beekman Youngblood, M.D., is a board-certified anesthesiologist who appealed a circuit court judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of Anthony Martin, as personal representative of the estate of Lanesha Martin. On May 25, 2006, Lanesha Martin underwent outpatient sinus surgery at Vaughan Regional Medical Center. During that surgery,…
Illinois Appellate Court Affirms Jury Verdict for Plaintiff in Medical Malpractice Claim of Negligence in Spinal Surgery
Gloria Tirado and Christian Tirado were plenary guardians of Gina Gutierrez, who brought a medical malpractice case against Drs. Konstantin Slavin and Gerald Oh. In the suit, it was alleged that the doctors negligently performed spinal surgery on Gutierrez and were negligent in their follow-up care. In answer, Dr. Slavin…
$1.25 Million Jury Verdict for Negligence in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy
Ms. Doe, 52, went to a hospital emergency room complaining of abdominal pain. She underwent an ultrasound and was diagnosed as having gallstones. Dr. Roe, a general surgeon, performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, during which the doctor encountered an unusual amount of bleeding. The surgeon converted to an open procedure where…
$1.7 Million Jury Verdict for Patient Injury Caused by Mishandled Catheterization
Ronald Fairrow, 56, underwent an appendectomy at Riverside Methodist Hospital. The surgical resident, Dr. Alon Geva, and nurse Megan Conrad attempted to insert a urinary catheter but encountered resistance. Dr. Geva and Conrad made several more attempts until another doctor came and properly inserted the catheter. Several days after the…
$30 Million Jury Verdict for Punitive Damages in Medical Center’s Negligence and Failure to Provide Life-Saving Surgery
Johnny Terrell Sledge, 24, suffered a gunshot wound to his back. He was taken to the DCH Regional Medical Center emergency room where an emergency room physician recognized the need for surgery. On-call trauma surgeon Dr. Bradley Bilton was paged repeatedly but responded that he was in surgery and that…