Jon Lynn and Cynthia Lynn Obtained a Defense Verdict for a Medical Malpractice Case in Naples, Florida

Jon Lynn and Cynthia Lynn obtained a defense verdict after an 8 day trial in Naples, FL. The Plaintiff, a 65 year-old woman, claimed that she had not given her voluntary informed consent for a spinal anesthetic to be used for her right knee replacement. She alleged that she had been rendered incontinent as a result of the anesthetic used. The Plaintiffs argued that the Defendants did not get her signature on a consent for anesthesia form that they said was required by the hospital for at least 10 years before the Plaintiff’s surgery. The Defendants claimed that there was no requirement that they obtain the patient’s signed, written consent for the administration of anesthesia and argued that their pre-anesthesia documentation included a reference to the Plaintiff’s voluntary consent to the administration of spinal anesthesia.

The Plaintiff did not argue that there was any negligence in connection with the actual administration of the spinal anesthesia. The claim was that there was a lack of consent and therefore, the spinal anesthetic should not have been used. If it was not used, they argued she would not have suffered the complication which requires her to catheterize herself 5-6 times a day. The Plaintiff’s position was that she had had a bad experience with an epidural anesthetic when she had delivered her children (30 years before her knee surgery) and testified that she had a heated argument with the Defendants during her pre-anesthesia evaluation, but ultimately gave in to the anesthesia team who insisted that she have a spinal anesthetic so that she could get her knee repaired. Neither of the Defendants (the anesthesiologist or the CRNA) nor the student nurse anesthetist who participated in the patient’s anesthetic management had an independent recollection of the surgery or the encounter with the patient which had occurred 9 years before the trial. Both the Plaintiffs’ and the Defendants’ called a series of expert witnesses to address the lack of consent, causation and damage issues in the case. The Plaintiff asked the jury to award close to two million dollars. After deliberating for 2 1/2 hours, the jury returned a total defense verdict.