$2.2M

Case Details

Jury verdict in wrongful death case following hiatal hernia repair. We represented the estate of a 49-year-old woman. She was a single mother of a 17-year-old daughter. The mother died as a result of complications that occurred during surgery. In 2007, the mother underwent a surgical procedure to treat gastroesophageal reflux and to repair a hiatal hernia. A composix mesh was used to reinforce the area of the hiatal hernia repair. The defendant surgeon used helical tacks (which resemble corkscrews in appearance) to affix the mesh to the diaphragm through the use of a surgical instrument known as the Autosuture ProTacker. Both the FDA and the manufacturer of the Autosuture ProTacker warned against the use of these tacks in areas where tissue could be compressed to a thickness of 4 mm or less and vital organs were in close proximity. Because the diaphragm is less than 4 mm in thickness directly underneath the heart, both the FDA and the manufacturer specifically warned against the use of these tacks when affixing mesh in this area. The defendant surgeon ignored these warnings during the mother’s operation. One of the helical tacks used by the defendant surgeon cut the mother’s heart vein causing the sac around her heart (known as the pericardium) to fill with blood. Once the pericardium filled with blood, the mother’s heart was unable to beat correctly, and the mother went into cardiorespiratory arrest. Her cardiorespiratory arrest caused an anoxic brain injury and brain death.

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