Attorneys J. Brian MacDonald and R. Paul Vance Obtain a Complete Dismissal of a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

We are proud to share that attorneys J. Brian MacDonald and R. Paul Vance recently obtained a complete dismissal of a medical malpractice lawsuit against our client, an OB/GYN, after a contested hearing.

The case arose from a hysterectomy in which the plaintiff alleged that a surgical instrument caused heat-related damage to her ureter. She claimed the OB/GYN should have noticed the alleged injury during the surgery and should have consulted a urologist to evaluate and treat the injury. According to the plaintiff, if a urologist had been consulted at that time, the injury would have been discovered and repaired before she left the operating room.

Our defense showed that the evidence simply did not support this theory. Medical records from the days after surgery showed no signs of the alleged injury, including clear imaging studies, normal lab results, and multiple examinations without concerning findings. Even the plaintiff’s own expert acknowledged that symptoms from the type of injury claimed often do not appear right away, and that he would defer to a urologist on treatment issues.

The treating urologist who was the first physician to actually confirm the injury, provided sworn testimony that, even if a consultation had been done during the original surgery, all testing would have been negative and no injury would have been found. In other words, nothing could have been done at that time to change the patient’s outcome.

The Court agreed that the plaintiff could not present the necessary evidence to prove that anything our client did, or did not do, caused the alleged injury. As a result, the case was dismissed in its entirety, with prejudice.

We are proud to have achieved this result for our client and to reaffirm our commitment to vigorously defending physicians, and other licensed professionals.