The administrator of a deceased man’s estate has filed a doctor malpractice lawsuit alleging the man died due to a botched surgical procedure.

Plaintiff Janet H. is the estate administrator for Scott B. and says that she was appointed to serve in this role on Jan. 24, 2018. The doctor malpractice lawsuit was brought on behalf of Scott’s estate.

The lawsuit explains that on Dec. 24, 2017, Scott was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Montgomery County, Ohio. He presented symptoms that ultimately led to a diagnosis of a dilated and inflamed appendix, consistent with acute appendicitis, the complaint says.

Janet says that when the decedent was initially evaluated, he was told to undergo surgery. During the pre-anesthesia assessment leading up to that surgery, the patient’s history of obesity, cervical spine fusion, and obstructive sleep apnea were noted. The consent form signed by the patient allegedly did not outline the type of anesthesia to be performed or explained the side effects, benefits or risks.

According to the doctor malpractice lawsuit, the surgery began at 7:54 p.m. and was completed at 8:34 p.m. The lawsuit alleges that Scott lost all respiratory activity for at least 15 minutes following the completion of surgery. At 8:56 p.m., Scott suffered cardiopulmonary arrest and medical staff were not able to revive his pulse until 9:04 p.m.

Janet says that at 9:11 p.m., the patient underwent an emergency tracheostomy procedure and was transferred to the ICU in critical condition. She further alleges that on Dec. 27, 2017, an EEG identified that the patient had no discernable brain wave activity and the patient was transferred to in-patient hospice care on Dec. 31st, 2017, where he passed away on Jan. 1st, 2018.

The lawsuit alleges that Scott’s injuries and death are the proximate and direct result of the defendant’s departures from accepted standards of medical care.

Appendicitis is a medical emergency that frequently requires immediate surgery to remove the appendix. If untreated, an inflamed appendix will perforate or eventually burst and spill infectious materials into the patient’s abdominal cavity.

An appendectomy can performed as open surgery with one abdominal incision or through several small abdominal incisions known as laparoscopic surgery. Due to the immediate nature of removing an appendix before it bursts or causes other problems, surgery could be a patient’s only option.

Although anesthesia is commonly used in most surgeries, it does come with danger. Certain patients require careful consideration about the type of anesthesia used because they are high-risk already. Being rushed into surgery for an appendectomy, while urgent, still means that patients should know about the doctor’s intentions for the procedure through conversation and consent forms that reveal the associated risks.

When a patient or surviving family members can show that doctors or other healthcare professionals deviated from a standard of care or made mistakes that caused injuries or death, this can lead to a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The Doctor Malpractice Lawsuit is case 3:19-cv-00025-WHR, filed in the Montgomery Common Pleas Court, Civil Division.