Anesthesia Interacting with Medication During Surgery Resulted in Death
Confidential Settlement Reached for Alteration of Medical Records
Mrs. W had a routine arthroscopic knee surgery at an ambulatory surgical facility. The treating surgeon and the anesthesia team failed to pay close attention to the medications Mrs. W was taking. As a result, they administered medications during the procedure that interacted with Mrs. W’s medications and caused her to go into respiratory arrest.
Partner Brian N. Eisen discovered that key documents in Mrs. W’s medical records had been destroyed and altered. He then hired a forensic document examiner and a computer forensic analyst to inspect the computer of one of the defendant physicians. After the trial court ordered production of the computer, an immediate appeal was taken.
Associate Todd E. Gurney argued the case in front of The Sixth District Court of Appeals. The appellate court ruled in favor of Mrs. W, but the defendants still would not allow the inspection to go forward. Instead, they filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court. The Supreme Court refused to accept the appeal, however, and the case settled shortly after the computer was analyzed.