A Texas appeals court's rejection of a surgical patient's malpractice claim closed the books on the lawsuit, but poses a reminder to providers and facilities that failing to accommodate patients' clinical requests may land them in litigation.
In the case of Preble v. Young, the court found that the ruptured blood vessel the patient suffered was not the result of substandard care, and that the physician the lawsuit accused of inflicting the injury did not physically participate in the surgery during which it occurred.
The patient, Michelle Denise Preble, underwent laparoscopic gall bladder surgery at Diagnostic Center Hospital in Houston on Jan. 13, 1992. She had arranged for general surgeon Gail Burbridge, MD, to perform the surgery. She had further requested that Ronald L. Young, MD, her former treating gynecologist, not participate in or even attend the procedure, according to court records.
While the two physicians were informed of this request and Dr. Burbridge made arrangements for another gynecologist to assist, Dr. Young was present in the OR for Ms. Preble's surgery.
During the procedure, Ms. Preble suffered a ruptured blood vessel when a trocar was placed in the supra pelvic region. In her lawsuit, which named the physicians and the hospital as defendants, Ms. Preble claimed that Dr. Young inserted the trocar and caused the bleeding injury. The defendants, she argued, "breached the level of care" required.
Specifically, she alleged that Dr. Young "breached his duty in performing a procedure unnecessary to preserve her life without her consent and in piercing the blood vessel." Ms. Preble further claimed the conduct of the defendants constituted assault and battery. The plaintiff sought compensation for emotional and mental pain, medical expenses, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, lost earnings and lost earning capacity, and exemplary damages.
The defendants contended that Dr. Young did not participate in the surgery, thereby eliminating all of the essential elements of the medical malpractice claim. Additionally, Dr. Burbridge testified that it was not uncommon for blood vessels to burst during laparoscopic gallbladder surgeries, and that rupturing a small blood vessel did not breach the standard of care for surgeons that perform such operations.
The case eventually proceeded to trial, where the court ruled in favor of the defendants. Ms. Preble appealed that decision, asserting that the trial court erred because "a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether Dr. Young participated in the surgery."
Attorneys for Ms. Preble and the defendants did not respond to requests for comment.
Mark McGraw
