April, 2018

Donald Brown and Michael Daily successfully defended a Louisville-based pediatric surgeon against allegations of medical negligence stemming from the performance of a chest wall resection in hopes of removing a cancerous tumor in an 8 year old child. The Defendant removed the tumor and the rib it encased clinically during the first procedure, and returned three days later to remove a second rib after it was discovered there was radiographic evidence of cancer in the adjacent rib as well.  Plaintiff’s theory of liability was that both ribs should have been removed during the first surgery.

Brown and Dailey defended the physician’s care by arguing that the “correct” rib was actually removed during the first surgery because it was intimately involved with the tumor.   With additional information gained only post-operatively, a second rib required resection.  The surgeries ultimately were successful and the Plaintiff is currently cancer free. The physician’s care was supported by a world-renowned pediatric surgeon specializing in chest wall tumors and a prominent pediatric pathologist. After considering the case, the jury agreed with Brown and Dailey and returned a verdict for the defense.