In Orange County, California, a jury awarded Erica Rockabrand a $2.9 million medical malpractice verdict for a botched hip surgery that left her experiencing severe pain. Rockabrand underwent hip surgery at UCI Medical Center on April 14, 2005.
During the procedure to have a joint fixated, Dr. Guy Paiement inserted two screws into Rockaband's hip. One of the screws damaged her sciatic nerve.
While Rockabrand was told beforehand that the surgery could result in nerve damage, her California medical malpractice lawyer says the plaintiff was told that the most she would feel would be numbness in her foot and that this could be relieved. Rockaband experienced pain right after the surgery.
She contends that she tried to contact her doctor and the medical center but they did not return her calls. Paiment's attorney disputes this account. The lawyer also says that while the procedure performed on Rockaband is not done by a lot of orthopedic surgeon, Paiement was qualified to do the surgery.
Rockabrand got a CAT scan the day after the procedure and scheduled a follow-up surgery for the next day so that the screw that had caused the damage could be replaced. Less than a month later, she had another doctor replace both screws.
Because of the surgical malpractice incident, Rockabrand's schooling was delayed for a year. She was studying biochemistry as a PHD student at UC Irvine.
The California jury awarded Rockabrand $2.8 million for non-economic damages and $89,000 for economic damages. Because of a California law that places a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering involving medical malpractice lawsuits, Rockabrand won't get most of the award.
Surgical Malpractice
For a plaintiff to prove medical malpractice, he or she must demonstrate by a preponderance of evidence that the medical provider breached a duty of care that was owed by failing to provide a service at the standard of care performed by other medical providers in the area. This breach of care then resulted in personal injury.
Doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other medical providers cannot afford to make mistakes--especially ones where the outcome could cause serious personal injury, great pain, or death to the plaintiff.
Woman awarded $2.9 million for hip surgery that caused pain, OC Register, June 11, 2009
Medical Malpractice, Justia
Related Web Resources:
University of California, Irvine Healthcare
Medical Malpractice and Surgical errors/Complications, Wrong Diagnosis
