Attorney obtained a defense verdict on behalf of defendant surgeon

Attorney obtained a defense verdict on behalf of defendant surgeon. The claims for damages were as a result of an alleged splenic injury during an emergent laparoscopic procedure while the plaintiff was on vacation. Despite no evidence in the operative, circulating or anesthesia record of an untoward event, plaintiff's expert testified, over objection, that the injury would not have occurred absent the negligent handling of the laparoscopic instruments by the defendant surgeon. The defense presented expert testimony which opined, with the assistance of literature in the area of laparoscopic surgery, that an injury to the spleen, however rare, may occur as a result of the insufflation of the abdomen due to adhesions that are present. The mechanism of injury is well described in the literature and case reviews are discussed whereby patients with prior abdominal trauma or surgery are at a risk of splenic injury when adhesions are pulled away from the spleen creating an injury to the organ which allows for immediate or delayed rupture. In the instant case, the plaintiff was transported via Medi-Vac in critical condition to a hospital five days after his discharge for the appendectomy.