PATIENT DIED FROM POSTOPERATIVE INFECTION

$2.1 Million Settlement

The estate of a 67-year-old woman who died of an abdominal infection set­tled for $2.1 million with a hospital and the doctors who allegedly failed to re­pair holes in the woman's intestine dur­ing a gallbladder removal procedure.

According to the plaintiff, the woman had a history of abdominal surgery and went in for a laparoscopic gallbladder removal. The plaintiff alleged that the surgeon experienced difficulty with the procedure and performed an open surgery. The surgeon noticed -one hole made in the intestine, repaired it, but did not look for others, according to the ....

The woman developed an abdominal infection, and was hypotensive and sep­tic,, following the surgery. The woman underwent another surgery which re­vealed yet another hole in her intestine and massive contamination with in­testinal contents.

The plaintiff claimed there was a 36-hour delay in discovering the surgical error, which caused the woman to die of overwhelming infection.

The surgeon agreed to a $1.75 million settlement and the hospital contributed another $350,000.

Type of Action: Medical Malpractice

Type of Injuries: Death of 67-year­old woman

Court/Case Number/Date: Feb. 27, 2002

Caption: Estate of Jane Doe v. Sur­geon, Surgeon, Inc. and XYZ Hospital

Judge, Jury or Arbitrator: N/A

Name of Judge: N/A

Verdict, Settlement or Arbitration Award: Settlement

Allocation of Fault: N/A

Last Offer N/A

Last Demand: N/A

Attorneys for Plaintiff: Charles Kampinski and Laurel A. Matthews, Cleveland

Insurance Carrier: N/A

Plaintiff's Experts: John F. Burke Jr., Ph.D., Cleveland; and Donald E. Frye, Albuquerque, N.M.

Defendant's Experts: Meade Perl­man, M.D. (internal medicine), North Canton; Russell Howerton (general surgery), Winston-Salem, N.C.; Keith Armitage (infectious disease), Cleve­land; and William W. Damon, Ph.D. (economist), Nashville, Tenn.