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Defense Verdict for Sellers and Morris in Med Mal Trial.
On November 13th, Randy Sellers and Ben Morris secured a defense verdict in a medical malpractice trial in Jefferson County Circuit Court. The case arose as a result of a patient dying during a redo coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedure. The patient had triple CABG performed three weeks prior to the redo. The plaintiff alleged that the surgeon who performed both CABG procedures failed to timely diagnosis and treat a condition known as heparin induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (HITT) following the original CABG procedure. Due to a positive heparin antibody test, the surgeon was forced to use a heparin alternative known as Hirudin during the second operation. The plaintiff alleged that the redo CABG should have been delayed until the heparin antibody was negative. Additionally, the plaintiff alleged that the standard of care required that the surgeon monitor the anticoagulation of the Hirudin using an ecarin clotting time (ECT) machine.
The defense submitted strong evidence that the patient never had HITT. Further, the patient's surgery could not have been delayed because it was urgently needed. Finally, the standard of care did not require the use of an ECT machine to monitor the anticoagulation of Hirudin. The surgeon appropriately monitored the anticoagulation of the Hirudin during the redo CABG using other methods.
The jury returned a defense verdict completely exonerating the surgeon.
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