Defense Puts Lawsuit Against Podiatrist on the Right Foot

Won a defense verdict in a health care liability trial in Pennsylvania. The plaintiff claimed she underwent unnecessary foot surgery that not only exacerbated ongoing complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), but also resulted in the amputation of a toe. She claimed the defendant doctor failed to recognize ongoing CRPS following a fracture and several months of conservative care, and mistakenly attributed her chronic pain to a malunion of the fracture site, which the doctor maintained was causing nerve compression. He performed two surgeries over the course of nine months, after which she left his practice and, ultimately, underwent three more surgeries, as well as being treated for CRPS. Key to the defense strategy were Facebook pictures that showed a different story about her activity level over a 16-month period prior to her toe amputation. The jury returned a unanimous defense verdict.