October 30, 2007

An orthopaedic surgeon was sued for allegedly failing to perform a total hip replacement properly which required revision surgery.  Plaintiffs (husband and wife) maintained that the surgeon’s failure to implant the total hip prosthesis properly in the initial surgery caused a hip dislocation which caused a sciatic nerve injury and later developed into complex regional pain syndrome.  In addition to damages for past and future medical expenses, Plaintiffs sought a loss of future earning capacity, past and future pain and suffering, and a loss of consortium claim on behalf of the patient’s wife totaling over $6 million.  The defense countered that the initial and revision hip surgeries were performed appropriately, that a sciatic nerve injury was a known complication of this type of hip surgery, and that plaintiff was informed of this possible complication prior to surgery.  After six days of trial, Gerald Toner and Katherine Vesely obtained a defense verdict in Fayette Circuit Court on behalf of the orthopaedic surgeon and her group.