News
Bates, Huntley and Garton successfully
defend surgeon in 12 day med mal trial.
On February 27, 2008, in the Circuit Court of Etowah County, Alabama, Billy Bates, Todd Huntley and Allison Garton obtained a defense verdict in favor of a general surgeon and his professional corporation at the conclusion of a twelve day trial. The suit arose from a July 2004 ventral hernia repair in which a laparotomy pad remained in the abdomen of the plaintiff postoperatively. The basic allegation against the general surgeon was that he fell below the applicable standard of care in allegedly failing to remove the lap pad at the conclusion of surgery. In addition to the surgeon, a local hospital was sued for the failure of its nurses to prevent the retention of the foreign body. The dispute between the hospital and the plaintiff was resolved prior to trial. During trial, the defense was able to prove that the surgeon met the standard of care in that he removed all foreign bodies he could see and feel and responded appropriately to the "sponge count" of the nurses. The count in this case was erroneously reported to be "correct." The evidence was that once the nurses reported the count as "correct," it was appropriate for the plaintiff's abdomen to be closed.
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