$2.6 Million - Surgical Error Premature Death

Case settled for $2,600,000.00 prior to trial.

The client, a 50-year-old female developed abdominal pain and left flank pain in July 2014, presented to the hospital, was found to have a kidney stone or mass, and was brought into the OR for nephrectomy. Post-operatively, she was assured all went well but before discharge, developed significant vomiting. A CT scan demonstrated extensive clots thought to be from a severe injury at the surgical site which had occurred intraoperatively, which our experts found to be due to a complete misidentification of the vascular structures. She subsequently required hemodialysis and underwent an exploratory surgery wherein they found liver necrosis. She was considered a potential organ transplant candidate but unfortunately, no organ was available at that time, her condition deteriorated, she was no longer a candidate for transplant and expired as a result of the surgical error. Our experts opined that the nephrectomy was not only unnecessary but resulted in a complete transection of the surrounding structures and her premature death.