$3.25 Million Settlement in Medical Negligence Action Against Anesthesiologist for Failing to Properly Administer Anesthesia During Routine Operation
The Plaintiff was a 56 year old male who presented to a surgery center for a routine hernia operation. The surgery center used multiple operative suites staffed by a CRNA and single supervising anesthesiologist. The surgery itself was uneventful. However, during the surgery the CRNA failed to appreciate that the patient was slowly receiving too much anesthetic. Once the patient began to manifest symptoms indicative of hypoxia timely resuscitative measure were not taken. Instead, critical time was lost checking equipment before the anesthesiologist was notified. Once the anesthesiologist was informed of the situation and came to the bedside, he intubated the patient and restored his airway. However, by that time the patient had suffered irreversible hypoxic brain damages which ultimately led to his death. He was survived by a spouse and 2 adult daughters The Plaintiff alleged the CRNA and anesthesiologist were negligent for failing to properly administer and supervise the anesthesia portion of the surgery. The case settled for $3.25 million prior to trial.