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Attorney: Dennis M. Donnelly
Settlement: $2,750,000.
Winter 2005

Blume Goldfaden partner, Dennis M. Donnelly, represented the estate of a 54 year old woman who died from intraoperative hemorrhaging during the negligent performance of a hysterectomy. The woman left surviving, her husband and four children. The claims included the negligent performance of the surgery by the surgeon (which settled for $750,000 due to problems with his insurance). The surgery lasted for 15 hours and the woman lost half of her blood supply before she died during the procedure. Claims were also made against the hospital with regard to negligence in the administrative supervision and oversight by the hospital, in allowing the surgeon to practice after he should have been suspended for multiple prior problems with aggressive and dangerous surgical methods. Through comprehensive investigation, Mr. Donnelly determined that additional claims were warranted against the surgeon’s former employer/hospital and its surgical department’s chairman, for failing to provide extremely negative peer reviews of the surgeon’s methods to the hospital where the plaintiff’s surgery was performed. The prior employing hospital claimed that it was not incumbent upon them to supply the critically needed information with regard to the shortcomings and dangerous nature of the surgeon’s methods. It was this lack of reasonable and necessary communication which played a role in the surgeon being permitted to perform surgery upon the plaintiff, resulting in her death.

Mr. Donnelly settled the claims against the hospital where the procedure was performed for an additional $2,000,000. The claims against the prior employing hospital and its surgical department’s chairman are pending appeal.