The son of a woman that died, due to a lack of oxygen during surgery, was awarded $1.2 million because of the negligence of her anesthesiologist, though the case was presumed to be difficult to win, as reported by the Kalamazoo Gazette.
M.G, 66 at the time of her death in 2008, died of a brain injury brought on by the lack of oxygen that was provided to her by Dr. E.O. Jr. The suit was filed in Kalamazoo County Court in 2010, naming Dr. E.O. Jr. as well as Kalamazoo Anesthesiology and the Bronson Methodist Hospital.
The hospital was dismissed as a defendant by October 2011 and the lawsuit fell squarely on Dr. E.O. Jr. and Kalamazoo Anesthesiology.
P.G. Jr., M.G.’s son and personal representative of her estate, was awarded 1.2 million for non-economic damages and $34,274 in economic damages.
Medical malpractice lawsuits, according to the attorney for the family, Martin R. Sturm, are “difficult to win.” The U.S. Department of Justice Statistics for 2005 showed a success rate of less than 25 percent. Sturm said that in the last eight years, if his memory is correct, only one case in Kalamazoo County won a significant amount. Prior to that, according to Sturm, it was sometime in the 1980s when a plaintiff received an award of $2 million.
Court records state that on August 11, 2008, M.G. had surgery for the removal of her thyroid and parathyroid glands in her neck. However, following the surgery, M.G. never recovered while still in the post-anesthesia care unit.
According to the lawsuit, M.G.’s anesthesiologist, Dr. E.O. Jr., had failed to notice that her breathing tube – used during her surgery to deliver necessary oxygen – had moved following the administration of the general anesthetic. Along with that allegation was another: during the surgery, Dr. E.O. Jr. failed to address M.G.’s low blood pressure.
The suit contends that both conditions deprive the brain of oxygen, and both can cause injury.
Tests made after M.G.’s operation, according to the suit, show that she had suffered an injury due to lack of oxygen to her brain. On August 22, 2008 she was taken off life support and died. The autopsy later revealed that there was no other reason for her death other than a lack of oxygen.
After three days of deliberation, the jury returned its verdict.
Attorney Steven C. Barry, representing Dr. E.O. Jr. and Kalamazoo Anesthesiology, said, “Both Dr. (E.O. Jr.) and I were disappointed with the verdict and disagree with it.” In regards to an appeal Barry said, “We’re still evaluating that and that will take days to weeks.”
S.G., M.G.’s eldest daughter, said, “The verdict doesn’t change anything for us because she’s not here with us, but there is closure that we know what happened to her in the operating room before the procedure even started. At least we have answers.”
If you have been the victim of medical malpractice you have just cause to file a lawsuit. Many times closure, as well as monetary awards, can be the outcome. Contact a medical malpractce attorney.