McKeen & Associates attorneys Brian McKeen and Kenneth Lee recently obtained a $1 million settlement on behalf of a woman who had been diagnosed with endometrial cancer and sought treatment from a gynecologic oncologist whose surgery resulted in injury that caused permanent damage and impacted her mobility.
The surgeon recommended a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries), and pelvic lymph node sampling. During the initial portions of the surgery, things went according to plan, however, when the surgeon attempted to sample the pelvic lymph nodes, he injured the patient’s hypogastric vein, which caused a significant hemorrhage to occur. Although the surgeon recognized the injury at the time it occurred, he failed to take adequate measures to fully repair the vein, and the patient continued to bleed after she was sent to the recovery room.
In the recovery room, the patient’s vital signs were noted to be unstable, as she was persistently hypotensive (low blood pressure), and her hemoglobin showed signs of decline. The surgeon took the patient back to the operating room, but the bleeding was so significant that he had to call in the assistance of a vascular surgeon to fully get control of the bleeding.
Due to the amount of blood loss, the patient developed a foot drop as a result of an ischemic insult to her lower extremity. This injury has had a permanent impact on her mobility and has caused the quality of her life to decline.
The settlement money that McKeen & Associates earned for the client will allow her to have the best medical treatment and rehabilitation available and to take steps toward a path of recovery.
