March 25, 2011

Christopher O’Bryan and Donald Brown successfully defended a Paducah based bariatric surgeon in McCracken County, KY.  Plaintiffs alleged that the surgeon negligently placed a removable vena cava filter prior to bariatric surgery, and that the filter failed to protect the patient against a fatal pulmonary embolus.  Plaintiffs sought approximately $15 million for their loss.  O’Bryan and Brown defended the case by submitting medical proof that removable filters were a recognized and state of the art method to prevent pulmonary embolus.  Further medical proof was submitted which indicated that the surgeon took all appropriate steps to protect the patient against pulmonary embolus and ultimately, the patient’s death was sudden and unpreventable.  Defense experts included a vascular surgeon from Vanderbilt University and a bariatric surgeon from Princeton University.  The jury agreed with the Defendant and returned a unanimous verdict in favor of the defendant in less than twenty minutes.