Defense Verdict – Ruptured Appendix with Complications
About The Case
Wagstaff & Cartmell successfully defended a family practice physician in a five-day jury trial in Douglas County, Kansas, in which the plaintiff asserted a claim of medical negligence and sought $3.3 million in damages.
The plaintiff claimed that the defendant was negligent by failing to appropriately work up and diagnose appendicitis during a visit to an urgent care clinic. The plaintiff was diagnosed with appendicitis by another healthcare provider during a subsequent urgent care visit that occurred four days later. The plaintiff claimed the delayed diagnosis caused his appendix to rupture, which led to an open appendectomy procedure, and that he experienced wound breakdown and a hernia at the incision site as a result, which required further surgical intervention. Furthermore, the plaintiff claimed that the hernia repair surgery left him with an entrapped ilioinguinal nerve, which caused life-limiting pain and discomfort and prevented him from working, being active, and enjoying time with his family.
Wagstaff & Cartmell attorneys successfully argued that the plaintiff’s presentation on the date of the client’s involvement was atypical for appendicitis and that the plaintiff had a retrocecal appendix, which is uncommon and made the diagnosis of appendicitis more difficult. The team also argued that the plaintiff’s appendix likely ruptured before his visit with the client; thus, the ultimate outcome likely still would have occurred even if the diagnosis of appendicitis had been made at the time of our client’s involvement.