Medical Verdicts

Foot drop after oophorectomy


 

Bronx County (NY) Supreme Court

After laparoscopic oophorectomy for an ovarian cyst, a woman complained of foot drop. Despite physical therapy, the woman maintained her gait did not improve.

In suing, the woman claimed the oophorectomy was unnecessary because the cyst was benign; that the operation lasted too long; and that the physician positioned her leg poorly during the procedure, leading to compression of the superficial peroneal nerve and the foot drop.

The defense denied negligence and asserted the woman’s condition was a complication of surgery.

  • The jury awarded the plaintiff $25,800.
The cases in this column are selected by the editors of OBG Management from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts, with permission of the editor, Lewis Laska, Nashville, Tenn (www.verdictslaska.com). The available information about the cases is sometimes incomplete; pertinent details may be unavailable. Moreover, the cases may or may not have merit. Still, these cases represent types of clinical situations that may result in litigation and are meant to illustrate variation in verdicts and awards.

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