CASE OF TIME SENSITIVE DIAGNOSIS

Attorneys, Tom Benvenuto and Michael Maher, obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an orthopedic surgeon in Rockland County in May 2022. The plaintiff was a 55 year old male who sustained a comminuted intra-articular bicondylar tibial plateau and fibular fracture due to a fall from a retaining wall.

Following the plaintiff’s presentation to the emergency room, the orthopedic surgeon planned and performed a repair of the fracture with open reduction internal fixation surgery. While admitted to a rehabilitation center, the plaintiff subsequently developed a postoperative infection and osteomyelitis, which necessitated multiple subsequent surgeries, including removal of the hardware, implantation of antibiotic beads, and muscle/skin grafting procedures.

At the time of trial, plaintiff argued that the fracture was considered to be an open fracture based on a scrape on the epidermis and a reading of the CT imaging. Plaintiff further argued that because the fracture was an open fracture, surgery should have been delayed and ultimately performed via different technique due to the risk of infection associated with open fracture. The defendant argued, utilizing experts in both orthopedic surgery and infectious disease, that the fracture was correctly identified and treated as a closed fracture, and that the infection did not develop under the orthopedic surgeon’s care, but rather during the subsequent admission to a rehab center. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of our client.