Dan Ryan obtained a defense verdict for an OB/GYN in Philadelphia County. The Plaintiff, who was pregnant with her first child, was diagnosed with fibroids. The fibroids did not complicate the pregnancy. After several hours of labor, the fetal heart rate decelerated and would not return to baseline. An emergency c-section was ordered. The Plaintiff and her husband initially refused the recommendation, but finally agreed twenty-five minutes later. A healthy baby was delivered via c-section, but because of the fibroids, uncontrollable bleeding was encountered. An emergency hysterectomy was performed. The defense maintained that the c-section was necessary to save the baby’s life and the hysterectomy was necessary to save the Plaintiff’s life. After the three week trial and a two hour deliberation, the jury agreed, and found that Mr. Ryan’s client was not negligent.

Marshall L. Schwartz obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a general surgeon in Philadelphia.  Plaintiff was 42 when she underwent a laparoscopic ventral hernia repair procedure. Plaintiff alleged that use of the Veress needle, the method used to insufflate the abdomen, was improper due to plaintiff’s prior abdominal surgeries, and that the needle perforated plaintiff’s small bowel. Following the procedure, a bowel perforation was discovered; plaintiff also alleged that the surgeon failed to discover the perforation during the procedure. The defense countered with a “two schools of thought” defense to defend the use of the Veress needle and established that the bowel perforation was a risk of the procedure and would not have been present during the operation. Experts in the field of General Surgery testified. Following a five day trial in Philadelphia County, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the surgeon.

Daniel F. Ryan, III obtained a defense verdict for a cardiothoracic surgeon in Philadelphia County.  In this case, the decedent underwent a ventral septal defect repair procedure on November 15, 2000. The decedent subsequently underwent a second emergency heart surgery, during which a surgical sponge was left in her. A third surgery was performed on November 17, 2000 to remove the retained sponge.

In September of 2001, decedent was admitted to the hospital after what was believed to be a transient ischemic attack. On echocardiogram, it was discovered that she had a mass on her left atrium. She underwent surgical resection of this mass, which was cultured and found to be negative for infection. During the same procedure, the decedent underwent mitral valve repair and removal of part of the prior pericardial patch repair. The final culture of the removed portion of the pericardial patch repair was also negative.

On October 2, 2001, decedent developed severe mitral regurgitation and was taken emergently back to the operating room. In the operating room, she became hypotensive and physicians attempted access to the right femoral vessels to establish cardiopulmonary bypass, which was unsuccessful. Physicians were able to establish cardiopulmonary bypass by right thoracotomy. The decedent underwent mitral valve replacement, but she could not be separated from cardiopulmonary bypass and was pronounced dead in the operating room.

Plaintiff alleged a breach of the standard of care for the retained sponge and failure to perform a post-operative chest x-ray to determine whether a sponge had been left in her following the emergency surgery. Plaintiff also contended that the delay in diagnosing the presence of the sponge resulted in a delay in removal, increased risk of harm and post-operative complications.

Following an eight day trial, the jury entered a defense verdict.