Facts

On Jan. 14, 2009, John Allen went to see urologist Dr. Barton Wachs. Allen had been experiencing active bleeding in his urinary tract for the past few days, and Wachs recommended surgery. Wachs performed the surgery.

Plaintiff Lois Allen, John's wife, sued Wachs, Long Beach Memorial, and Dr. Michael Alexander, the anesthesiologist for the surgery. Dr. Wachs settled with the plaintiffs, and the case proceeded against the other defendants. Dr. Alexander was also later dismissed from the case.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff claimed that sometime after the surgery, but related to the surgery, caused Allen to suffer a stroke. As a result of the stroke, Allen later suffered from dementia.

She claimed that during the surgery, the defendants incorrectly administered anesthesia to her husband, ultimately causing his stroke. She argued that Dr. Alexander mistakenly administered general anesthesia, when he should have administered it otherwise.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Long Beach argued that the surgery had been successful, and that Allen had not suffered a stroke during the procedure. There were no records that indicated that there were any complications during the surgery that suggested Allen had suffered a stroke, and that everything had gone according to plan.

They also argued that Allen's symptoms and dementia were symptoms of Alzheimer's, which had nothing to do with the surgery. Furthermore, the standard of care did not require the hospital to obtain a pre-operative clearance by an internal medicine specialist. This would be up to the patient's physician, not the hospital.

Damages

Plaintiffs requested $250,000 in damages.

Result

The jury ruled in favor of defense, finding no negligence.

Deliberation

one hour

Poll

12-0

Length

eight days