Expert Witness Case #27
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Mr. B was a 60-year-old man who suffered a partial retinal detachment. He was seen by an ophthalmologist (Dr. T) and scheduled for surgery.
He was evaluated by the anesthesiologist Dr. M, who recommended MAC (monitored anesthesia care).
During the surgery, he became bradycardic and his end tidal CO2 fell precipitously.
After initial improvement with atropine, the patient went into cardiac arrest.
The anesthesiologist coded the patient.
He was taken to an academic medical center ED where a pulse was regained.
Unfortunately he passed away shortly thereafter.
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The patient’s widow brought a lawsuit against the anesthesiologist.
The expert witness opinion is shown below:
The defense also hired an expert witness, Dr. G.
He is an anesthesiologist at a world-renowned eye care hospital.
The description here is the defense attorney’s summary of Dr. G’s expected testimony.
After prolonged negotiations, a confidential settlement was reached.
MedMalReviewer Opinion:
1) The exact cause of death is unclear. The initial concern was for PE, but this was disproven at autopsy. The likely cause is either respiratory depression related to anesthesia, or possibly severe bradycardia related to the oculocardiac reflex that precipitated a cardiac arrest.
2) The plaintiffs chose to only sue the anesthesiologist, not the ophthalmologist. This is an odd decision given that both physicians had a shared responsibility to maintain a safe operation.
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