Injuries During Surgery

Settlement for a forty-six-year-old man following orthopedic surgeon’s failure to use proper technique during shoulder surgery at a Greater Boston hospital, resulting in the bending of implanted hardware. The hardware issue could have been quickly corrected without damage to the patient’s shoulder joint, but was instead ignored by the surgeon leading to breakage and the need for a significant grafting and repair surgery. The case settled during the initial stages of discovery, which is rare for a medical malpractice case.

Settlement for 35-year-old man and his child following surgeon’s failure to use proper technique during thoracic spine surgery, resulting in the patient’s being paralyzed from the waist down. The surgery took place at a prominent Boston hospital. The case settled following extensive discovery, and just before the depositions of the intraoperative neuromonitoring personnel, whose notes contradicted the surgeon’s timeline of the events that led to the patient’s injuries.

Just prior to scheduled trial, SUGARMAN’s personal injury attorneys were able to obtain a substantial settlement for a patient who suffered catastrophic blood loss when the defendant surgeon pierced the patient’s aorta with a surgical instrument during a surgery to treat diverticulitis. The surgery occurred at a hospital near Worcester, Massachusetts. The patient’s blood loss led to the development of severe neurological injuries and personality changes that ended his work career and had a devastating effect on his marriage and family life.

In 2017, the plaintiff underwent surgery at a Boston-area hospital to correct a herniated disc in his back. SUGARMAN’s attorneys demonstrated that the neurosurgeon performed the procedure with improper technique, resulting in permanent paralysis which could not be reversed with additional surgeries. The surgeon’s operative note was written and signed weeks after the initial surgery and the neuromonitoring records conflicted with the surgeon’s version of events. The case settled on behalf of the plaintiff and his minor son after discovery was nearly complete.

Medical malpractice settlement against orthopedic surgeon and his practice group for the inappropriate surgical removal of a 50-year-old man’s left kneecap in treatment of multi-compartmental knee arthritis.

Gynecological malpractice verdict against OB/GYN for negligence in improperly positioning patient during surgery resulting in neuropathy, and injury to her ureter. The verdict is the largest ever recorded in the District Courts of Massachusetts.

Settlement for family of man who died after undergoing major abdominal surgery for appendiceal cancer. Post-operatively, the surgeon ordered Venodyne boots be applied to the patient’s lower extremities in order to mitigate the risk of the patient developing pulmonary emboli. A nurse caring for the patient, however, failed to apply the boots during a 12 hour shift. Soon after, the patient collapsed and died from bilateral pulmonary emboli.

Settlement for 48-year-old patient when spinal surgeon damaged a nerve root during surgery. The patient sustained lifelong personal injuries as a result.

An Essex County jury sitting in Newburyport rendered a verdict in favor of a 42-year-old woman who suffered significant neck injuries at a hospital in Lynn, MA, after being positioned on an operating room table for routine surgery. After she was anesthetized and medically paralyzed, her unsecured head fell off the table resulting in permanent nerve damage to her neck.

Settlement for widow and adult children of a 71 year-old veteran following improper placement of a feeding tube during esophagus surgery. During two separate surgeries, the defendant surgeon failed to secure the feeding tube into the small bowel and instead pierced the bowel, causing bile leakage, infection and the patient’s death. The case resolved following extensive discovery and prior to trial in the Federal Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Medical malpractice settlement for young mother and her family against a neurosurgeon who failed to properly place a lumbar interbody graft during a fusion surgery. Post-operative stage diagnostic studies revealed that the graft was displaced and deforming her iliac vein and arteries. The patient subsequently underwent two life threatening procedures and was left with significant neurological injuries.