Sacramento Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this medical malpractice/personal injury case and its proceedings.)

Dr. Green
On June 24th Plaintiff was believed to have suffered a gastrointestinal bleed. On that day, Dr. Green placed an arterial and femoral line in Plaintiff's groin to measure his blood pressure and rapidly infuse blood. The line is placed using a guide wire which is inserted ir the groin and up the iliac vein approximately 15-20 centimeters into the area of the bifurcation of the aorta. A hard rigid catheter is placed on top of the guide wire which, if erroneously placed can cause injury to the aorta. Assuming during the placement of these line, Dr. Green lacerated the posterior wall of the abdominal aorta and/or the adjacent area of the left common iliac vein, it would be a breach of the standard of care and a substantial factor in causing Plaintiff's second series of injuries. Dr. Green has presented no evidence rising to a medical probability that his placement of the line did not cause injury.

However, even assuming Dr. Green did not cause the injuries, as the vascular surgeon taking part in the laparotomy on the 24th, Dr. Green was responsible for determining the source of the hemorrhage, including ruling out injury to the abdominal aorticbifurcation and the anterior wall of the left common iliac vein. Dr. Green admits that he did not discover the source of Plaintiffs bleed on the 24th As evident by the events on June 28th, Dr. Green failed to adequately inspect, discover and repair all sources of the bleed. Dr. Green's failure to discover and repair the injury was below the standard of care and was a substantial factor in causing Plaintiff's injury.

Dr. O’Connor
Defendant Dr. O’Connor s treatment of Plaintiff began on June 19, 2005, when Plaintiff suffered from respiratory failure and complications of aspiration pneumonia and a pulmonary embolism. On June 28th, Plaintiffs blood pressure again dropped and right femoral venous lines were placed by Dr. O’Connor. If Dr. O’Connor caused a puncture/laceration to the aortic bifurcation and/or to the left common iliac vein during the course of these placement of the femoral venous lines it was below the standard of care and a substantial factor in causing Plaintiff's second set of injuries.

Continue reading " Sacramento Man Sues For Huge Damages After Surgical Malpractice, Part 7 of 7 " »

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this medical malpractice/personal injury case and its proceedings.)

Dr. Brown
Dr. Brown's placement of the first trocar or Veres needle during the initial surgery caused multiple vascular injuries, including a laceration to the left iliac vein, a laceration to the mesentery and small bowel. Dr. Brown was below the standard of care in causing these injuries.

Dr. Spring, Dr. Brown's retained expert testified these injuries are not supposed to happen.
Q: you're not suppose to injury the vein, are you?
A:. No.
Q: You're not supposed to injure the mesentery, correct?
A: No. That's not the intent of the operation.
Q: And you're not suppose to injur the bowel correct?
A: That's correct.

The same response was given for the injuries to the mesentery and the bowel.

Dr. Spring confirmed these injuries were caused by Dr. Brown's placement of the trocar.
Q: Tell me how the vein injury was caused.
A: Most likely be the insertion of the trocar.

Further, it was Dr. Brown's and Dr. Garcia's duty to discover all areas of injury during the first exploratory surgery.
Q: Whose responsibility was it to determine the sources of the bleeding?
A: I believe the vascular surgeon would do that. That would be h s responsibility.
Q: Am I correct then that once Dr. Brown finished the cholecystectomy despite that fact that he may be responsible for causing the injuries it became Dr. Garcia's obligation to identify any source of injuries?
A: Correct.

Continue reading " Medical Malpractice At Sacramento Hospital Has Catastrophic Results, Part 6 of 7 " »

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this medical malpractice/personal injury case and its proceedings.)

THE SECOND ACT OF NEGLIGENCE IS A SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
Although Plaintiff suffered multiple injuries when Dr. Brown placed the original trocar in the iliac vein, the mesentery and the small bowel, which commutatively give rise to one general damage award of the $250,000 MICRA cap, Plaintiff suffered two totally separate injuries from potentially separate acts of negligence giving rise to a second and third $250,000 cap. Indeed had Plaintiff so chosen he could have brought a separate lawsuit for the injury to his abdominal aorta and for the left iliac vein. See (Lilienthal & Fowler v. Superior Court (1993) 12 Cal.App.4th 1848,1854. Each time a separate and distinct wrongful act causes this injury a separate cause of action arises because a separate right has been violated.)

Defendants Garcia and Green's own expert, Dr. Richard Davis testified at deposition there are two separate and distinct injuries. (See Deposition of Dr. Richard Davis, page 51, lines 17-21, attached hereto as Exhibit 1. ) Dr. Davis further testified that the injury to Plaintiff's bifurcation of the aorta could not have been present during the June 16th surgery because Dr. Garcia would have been able to see it. (See Deposition of Dr. Richard Davis.) Plaintiff has separate causes of action for each injury and therefore separate damage limitations. Plaintiff will ask the jury to award him S750,000 in general damages for medical malpractice.

CAUSATION
As discussed above, the type of injuries suffered by Plaintiff do not occur in the absence of negligence. It is undisputed, even by defendants own experts that one, some, or all, of the defendants caused Plaintiff's injuries.

Continue reading " Sacramento Surgeons Commit Medical Malpractice, Part 5 of 7 " »

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this medical malpractice/personal injury case and its proceedings.)

une 28, 2005, Hemorrhagic Shock and Cardiac Arrest
On June 28th, Plaintiffs blood pressure again dropped. Right femoral and venous lines were placed in his groin by Dr. O’Connor. A third emergency surgery was performed by Dr. Brown and Dr. Garcia. A major hemoperitoneum was discovered with over five liters of blood intraperitoneally in the abdomen. It was not until the surgery on the 28th that Dr. Garcia and Dr. Brown finally discovered the source of bleeding, two totally separate injuries, a laceration at the posterior aspect of the aorticbifurcation and an associated kissing laceration of the left common iliac vein. The two lacerations were repaired and the abdomen was left open. These injuries were four to five centimeters away from the first series of injuries. Two days later, another laparotomy was performed and Plaintiffs abdomen was closed. These newly discovered injuries could have been caused from two separate events and certainly were caused by separate instrumentalities then that which lacerated Plaintiff's iliac vein, mesentery, and small bowel on June 16th. As such, they are subject to two additional general damage recoveries, each in a separate amount not to exceed $250,000.

What was thought to be an outpatient procedure turned into a 35-day stay in ICU with multiple complications, two near death experiences and months of recuperation. Plaintiff was finally released from the hospital on July 21, 2005, totally disabled.

LIABILITY
Liability is clear. During the course of the cholecystectomy and the subsequent treatment by the defendants in this matter, Plaintiff sustained the following injuries: 1) laceration of the left iliac vein,

Continue reading " Sacramento Patient Sues For Medical Malpractice, Part 4 of 7 " »

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this medical malpractice/personal injury case and its proceedings.)

As a result of the abdominal bleed, Plaintiff suffered an abdominal compartment syndrome and he went into respiratory arrest, CPR was performed, and he was urgently taken to the operating room where Dr. Brown and Dr. Green performed a laparotomy (opening of his abdomen). Dr. Brown discovered a large hemoperitoneum, an enteral defect in the small bowel interloped mesenteric interstices caused during the first surgery. Neither Dr. Brown nor Dr. Garcia identified the bowel injury during the original surgery on June 16th although it was present. To not identify same was negligent. The failure to identify and repair the hole in Plaintiffs bowel may be a separate and distinct injury giving rise to a separate cause of action and a cap on general damages of $250,000.

Following the repair to the small bowel, Plaintiffs abdomen was left open. Two days later, on June 26th, Dr. Brown inspected and closed the abdomen. Dr. Brown failed to identify any additional sources of bleeding.

As the vascular surgeon taking part in the laparotomy on the 24th, Dr. Green was responsible for determining the source of the massive hemorrhage, including rulding out injury to the abdominal aorticbifurcation and the anterior wall of the left common iliac vein. As evidenced by the events on June 28th, Dr. Green failed to adequately inspect, discover and repair all sources of the abdominal bleed. If Dr. Green caused this bleed by injuring the aorta or left iliac vein when he set his lines this is a separate and distinct cause of action from the prior injuries and gives rise to a separate and distinct general damages cap of $250,000. (See Part 4 of 7.)

Continue reading " Sacramento Medical Malpractice Case Goes To Trial, Part 3 of 7 " »

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this medical malpractice/personal injury case and its proceedings.)

June 16, 2005, Initial Surgery
Dr. Brown's placement of the first trocar or Veres needle caused multiple vascular injuries, including a laceration to the left iliac vein, requiring immediate repair by a vascular surgeon. As a result, Dr. Garcia identified and repaired a 0.5 cm laceration to the left common iliac vein. During the course of the repair to the iliac vein, Dr. Garcia placed DeBakey clamps in the area of thebifurcation of the abdominal aorta. As a vascular surgeon, Dr. Garcia had the duty and the obligation to inspect the area and discover any additional sources of in ury or bleeding. This would include inspecting the aortic and iliac vessels to rule out a more deep and penetrating vascular injury from the trocar. Dr. Garcia claims that as of his surgery on June 16th there was no separate injury to the bifurcation of the abdominal aorta and no injury to the iliac vein in that area

Dr. Brown and Dr. Garcia examined the peritoneal cavity for other area; of injury. Dr. Brown and Dr. Garcia inspected the small bowel and mesentery and found a laceration to the mesentery. The third injury to the small bowel was missed. Plaintiff's surgical site was closed and he was transferred to XYZ Hospital.

June 19, 2005, Respiratory Failure
Three days after the original surgery, Plaintiff was in respiratory distress. A CT pulmonary angiogram was performed which revealed a large right pulmonary arterial embolus. The following day, Defendant Dr. O’Connor began treating Plaintiff for respiratory failure and complications of aspiration pneumonia and pulmonary embolism. Dr. O’Connor opined that the respiratory failure was not just from the pulmonary embolism, but that he also had an aspiration event. The blood clot which caused the pulmonary embolism had developed in Plaintiff's left iliac vein at the site lacerated during the cholecystectomy. All experts agree the pulmonary embolism was a direct result of Dr. Brown's laceration of the left iliac vein.

Continue reading " Trial For Surgical Malpractice In Sacramento Hospital, Part 2 of 7 " »

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this medical malpractice/personal injury case and its proceedings.)

PLAINTIFF JOHN SMITH’S MEDICAL MALPRACTICE TRIAL BRIEF

I. THE PARTIES
Plaintiff: John Smith, date of birth: XX/XX/1967.

Defendants: Dennis Brown, M.D., General Surgeon Bob Garcia, M.D., Vascular Surgeon Paul Green, M.D., Vascular Surgeon, James O’Connor, M.D., Interventional Radiologist and Pulmonologist

Injuries: Laceration of the left iliac vein, laceration of the mesentery and small bowel perforation, posterior laceration of the bifurcation of the abdominal aorta and, an anterior wall laceration, residual injuries including pulmonary embolism, respiratory arrest, massive abdominal bleed, cardiac arrests, and abdominal compartment syndrome. Past Medical Bills: $601,150.12 (Approx.)

Future Medical Care: Monitoring of Deep Vein Thrombosis and potential surgery

Loss $14,636.80, plus sick leave and annual leave earnings for the same of earnings: time frame.

General Damages: $750,000.00.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS
On June 16,2005, Plaintiff went to the XYZ Surgery Center to have his gallbladder removed, also known as a cholecystectomy. This was suppose lo be a routine procedure performed by general surgeon Dennis Brown, M.D. Defendant Dr. Brown chose to do the surgery using a laparoscopic technique which necessitated the use of a Veres needle to gain access of the abdominal cavity, and a trocar, sharply pointed instruments, use to puncture the peritoneum for placement of the cannulas.

Continue reading " Sacramento Surgical Medical Malpractice Lawsuit, Part 1 of 7 " »