February 13, 2012

Clay Edwards and Benjamin Weigel successfully defended a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon against allegations of medical malpractice in Pulaski County Circuit Court in Somerset, Kentucky.  Plaintiff alleged that her 41-year old husband died as the result of improperly performed mechanical aortic valve replacement surgery.  Plaintiff further argued that the surgeon placed the mechanical valve such that it occluded blood flow to the left coronary artery and caused an intraoperative myocardial infarction.  This theory of liability was supported by autopsy findings from the University of Kentucky as well as by a prominent cardiothoracic surgeon from St. Louis, Missouri.  Edwards and Weigel argued that the surgeon complied with the standard of care and that the autopsy findings were not supported by adequate evidence.  The defense theory was supported by a senior partner in the largest cardiothoracic surgery practice in Greater Cincinnati.  The jury unanimously exonerated the surgeon after 35 minutes of deliberation.