$2.75 Million Irreversible Brain Injury
On July 8, the Plaintiff, arrived at the Defendant outpatient surgical center to undergo a colonoscopy as well as an EGD procedure (esophagogastroduodenoscopy). The colonoscopy was performed uneventfully, followed by the EGD procedure. The Plaintiff received Versed, Fentanyl and Propofol as her twilight anesthesia for the procedure.
The Plaintiff alleged that, contrary to the standards of care, the Defendant anesthesiologist overmedicated the Plaintiff with anesthetics, which stopped her breathing. Additionally, during the course of the procedure, the Defendant failed to adequately monitor the Plaintiff such that she was permitted to stop breathing for a substantial period of time, leading to cardiopulmonary arrest. The medical records contained a computer printout of the Plaintiff’s vital signs automatically taken during the procedure, which documented falling oxygen saturation levels which the Defendant failed to address or correct. The Plaintiff further alleged that after the cardiopulmonary arrest, the Defendant failed to administer appropriate resuscitative medications in a timely manner.
As the direct and proximate result of the negligence, the Plaintiff, who entered the outpatient center as a perfectly normal and healthy 62-year old woman, left as an irreversibly brain injured individual who was unable to perform even the most basic activities of daily living for herself. She remained confined at a nursing home for several months until her husband brought her home. The Plaintiff now requires around the clock nursing care and lives at home where she is cared for by nurses and her husband, to whom she has been married for 42 years.