Orthopedic Surgeon Not Liable for Patient's Death

Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an orthopedic surgeon in Pennsylvania following 40 minutes of jury deliberation.  The case involved the death of a 45-year-old wife and mother who suffered a tibial plateau fracture in a fall at her home.  The defendant surgeon had examined the patient in the hospital on the date of her fall and scheduled her for an open reduction the next day. The surgeon then had to postpone the procedure due to time constraints and lack of personnel for the operating room team, and the procedure was rescheduled for the following afternoon. When the surgery was completed and the wound was being dressed, the patient developed deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli. Heroic efforts to save her, including open heart massage, were unsuccessful. She remained comatose until her death approximately two weeks later. It was claimed that the patient had multiple risks for the development of emboli and that she should have been anti-coagulated pre-operatively or, at a minimum, should have had mechanical compression devices applied, as well as screening testing. The defense experts, an orthopedic surgeon and a pulmonologist, testified that the issue of prophylactic anticoagulation in conjunction with various orthopedic surgical procedures has been a matter of discussion and disagreement for many years, but the general consensus within the profession is that routine pre-operative prophylactic anticoagulation in conjunction with a fracture distal to the knee is not recommended.