Led by partners Michelle Birtja and David Rubaum, Wood Smith Henning & Berman secured an excellent outcome for an orthopedic surgeon client following arbitration in a contentious medical malpractice case. The matter centered on allegations that a total right hip revision in 2019 was negligently performed, specifically regarding the surgeon's decision to retain some of the hardware over the course of five surgeries.
The claimant, who had a history of complications following an initial hip replacement, alleged that the standard of care required the removal of all prior hardware, including the acetabular cup, to resolve a longstanding infection. The defense countered that the surgeon, relying on more than thirty years' experience, made a careful intraoperative assessment that the removal of the acetabular cup would result in greater harm due to significant bone defects. They also argued that the later infection was a new and unrelated occurrence.
"Our team worked this matter up from the beginning with the expectation of taking it to arbitration, and we never deviated from that strategy," commented Birtja. "This case reinforced that arbitrators can and do reach the right conclusions when presented with a strong, well-supported case."
Although the claimant underwent several additional surgeries and ultimately had all hardware removed by another surgeon, the arbitrator found no breach in the standard of care occurred and that the plaintiff failed to show that the retained hardware caused the subsequent infection. Notably, the claimant never made a demand, and the defense held firm on its non-settlement stance.
"The arbitrator's award affirms the legitimacy of intraoperative discretion and the importance of individualized patient assessment in complex revision procedures," added Rubaum.
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