Verdict and Settlement Detail

Settlement:	$650,000
Court:	U.S. District Court, Northern Dist. of Ohio
Date:	October 2006
Plaintiff's Counsel:	Ellen M. McCarthy
Description: Ellen M. McCarthy obtained a $650,000 settlement for a 63 year old man who had a portion of his colon unnecessarily removed due to the medical malpractice of his surgeon. This unfortunate incident began when our client underwent a screening colonoscopy which was positive for a polyp in the transverse colon. The colonoscopist documented the location of the polyp in his operative note, and surgery to remove the polyp was determined to be necessary. Although the surgeon who performed the procedure to remove the polyp had access to the colonoscopist’s operative note, he did not review it, and mistakenly believed the polyp was in the ascending colon – a considerable distance from the actual location. As a result, he mistakenly removed the entire ascending colon before learning – during the operation – that there was no polyp in this section of the colon, and that the polyp was really in the transverse colon. The surgeon then removed almost the entire transverse colon. As a result, almost 2/3's of our client’s colon was unnecessarily removed. Within days of the surgery, the surgical site ruptured, causing severe peritonitis, necessitating additional surgery, a colostomy, and several months of hospitalization and follow-up home care. The colostomy was eventually reversed but resulted in additional surgeries for hernia repairs. The plaintiff was forced to retire from his occupation earlier than planned. The defense contended that it was appropriate to remove the ascending colon and most of the transverse colon, and that the rupture of the surgical site was a known risk of colon surgery. The settlement of $650,000 was for our 63 year old client, who was a single man with no children.