Medical Negligence

In Wife and Children v. Private Provider (mandatory arbitration, confidential venue), Michael Kelly and Spencer Pahlke obtained a confidential seven-figure MICRA-capped mediated settlement on behalf of the family of a vibrant 74-year-old man who died after undergoing an endovascular aneurysm repair. The decedent agreed to have surgery to treat an abdominal aortic aneurysm based upon his physician’s advice that he was a proper candidate, that the surgery was minimally invasive, and that the surgery would result in only a short hospital stay. Intraoperatively the surgeon twice performed angiography to ensure that the patient was not bleeding internally. Both times, the defendant physician wrongly concluded there was no extra-vascular bleeding. The decedent extravasated two days post-op. Plaintiffs’ retained experts testified that both angiograms clearly showed that the decedent was bleeding internally and that prompt repair was feasible and would have saved his life. Although in his 70s, the decedent was still working at the time of the procedure. Mike and Spencer produced evidence that he would have continued working for at least another five years. The claim for future loss of earnings, benefits and household services accounted for the recovery in excess of the $250,000 MICRA cap.