Senior Trial Partner Bruce G. Habian, with extensive discovery having been conducted by partner Kevin McManus, secured a unanimous defense verdict concerning surgical liability, at Supreme Court, New York County, before Judge Carmen St. George. The 70-year-old plaintiff, since deceased, underwent complicated surgery for a repair of an incisional hernia that followed colon cancer resection. The surgery was per the sophisticated component separation technique.
Plaintiff claimed that the recurrence of the hernia with tissue disruption, 4 days post-operatively, indicated improper surgical technique (as the usual timeframe for early recurrence is statistically 1 - 2 years post-op). The patient’s abdomen was left open with a draining wound for approximately 8 months. Plaintiff also claimed that the patient’s death was directly related to the post-op sequela. The defense focused on multiple longstanding co-morbidities (diabetes, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, renal failure and COPD), as responsible causation for the poor tissue makeup and the wound dehiscence and suture tearing.