Medical Negligence - Striking a Major Artery – Sample Case
Akron & Canton, Ohio

The lawsuit:

Woman files lawsuit against the surgeon who struck a major artery during a laparoscopic procedure, causing her to bleed internally and require emergency surgery to save her life.

What happened:

A young woman underwent a laparoscopic surgical procedure to assess her fallopian tubes for purposes of fertility. The surgical procedure was intended to be an outpatient surgery; however at the beginning of the surgery, the surgeon struck a major artery with one of the laparoscopic instruments, causing her to bleed internally. Soon after striking the artery, her blood pressure began to drop and the anesthesiologist had to keep giving her more fluids to keep it up. The surgeon was aware of her condition but ignored the signs that she was bleeding because he did not believe he caused any injury during the procedure. She continued to bleed internally, as the surgeon continued on with his intended procedure until she became so hypotensive that a critical care ambulance had to be called to rush her to St. Elizabeth’s hospital. Fortunately a trauma surgeon emergently took her surgery to stop the bleeding and in fact saved her life. She remained hospitalized for several months and had additional surgeries to correct problems due to the loss of blood flow to her legs. Angela Vagotis tried the case to a Mahoning County jury.

Jury Verdit: $190,000.00

If a loved one has been a victim of medical negligence, you may have a claim. Be sure to consult a medical malpractice attorney immediately to investigate the matter, as there are strict time limitations for pursuing these types of cases.

For help with your medical malpractice claim, contact attorney Angela Vagotis at 330-456-4122 or fill out this form.