In April 2011, the defendant performed weight loss surgery (a duodenal switch with sleeve gastrectomy) on the morbidly obese patient, a single mother of two children. She subsequently developed persistent micronutrient deficiencies and abdominal pain, prompting him to take her back to the operating room in January 2015. His intention was to perform exploratory surgery with possible revision of the common channel, anatomy he had revised during the first surgery, in the hope of curing her malabsorption issues.
During his insertion of a 12 mm Optiview trocar, the aorta and inferior vena cava were lacerated. The patient died on the operating table despite the intervention of a vascular surgeon and trauma team.
The action was filed by the decedent’s niece and the father of the younger child, the co-administrators of the Estate and guardians of the two children. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendant committed malpractice by carelessly using excessive force in his insertion of the trocar, and by misdirecting it toward the aorta. Our defense, that the injury to the aorta was the unfortunate consequence of the patient’s massive weight loss and changes in her tissues, the result of her malnourishment, was supported by the testimony of the defendant and a second well-credentialed bariatric surgeon expert. The jury returned its verdict in favor of my client in just under 50 minutes. Keys to the successful outcome included “surgical” cross-examinations of plaintiffs’ bariatric and economics experts, and sensitive yet probative questioning of the decedent’s family, including the surviving son and his father, and the daughter’s guardian.
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