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Bruce Pfaff – Pfaff, Gill & Ports, Ltd.
$10 Million Settlement: Brain Damage During Bariatric Surgery
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Illustration
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Mechanism of Injury
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Legal
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Medical Malpractice
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Case Study
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During an abdominal surgery, a surgeon negligently caused internal bleeding that was not immediately recognized or treated. Additionally, the anesthesiologist failed to provide prompt and sufficient fluid and blood transfusion therapy. Consequently, the plaintiff patient suffered from severe hypotension and inadequate cardiac perfusion, leading to hypoxic ischemic brain damage.
Challenge
The defense denied negligence, claiming the decreased perfusion of oxygenated blood was due to pre-existing cerebral vascular issues or, in the words of one expert, due to a C02 embolism that prevented oxygenated blood from passing through the heart to the brain. Attorney Bruce Pfaff of Pfaff, Gill & Ports, Ltd. needed visuals to demonstrate the abdominal surgery and how evident the bleeding should have been.
Presentation of medical illustrations demonstrating sequence of abdominal surgeries
Approach
We collaborated with Mr. Pfaff to create a series of medical illustrations to demonstrate:
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The normal, supine anatomy of the abdominal compartment.
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The cannula and needle placements for a supine laparoscopic roux-en-y gastric bypass.
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The internal abdominal bleeding, pooling of blood around the spleen and GE junction. Specifically, we wanted to demonstrate how evident the bleeding should have been during the surgery.
Medical illustration demonstrating the first discovery of bleeding.
Result
The medical legal illustrations helped Bruce Pfaff secure a $10M limited confidential settlement for his client.
Since the occurrence, the plaintiff has been and will always be unable to work. She is unable to provide for any of her daily needs.
This money, ultimately paid to a bank that acts as the guardian of the injured person’s estate with all disbursements requiring court approval, will help the plaintiff pay for the medical care and treatment she will require for the rest of her life.
“Darlene and her team were delightful to work with. They understood our case and what was important to show.”
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