Confidential

Facts

Plaintiff, a 60-year-old man working for Porsche of Beverly Hills as a certified auto technician, sustained workplace injuries to his right shoulder. He was advised by defendant, an orthopedic surgeon to undergo surgery. Plaintiff developed an pulmonary embolism and was hospitalized for two days.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that defendant did not consider other non-surgical options before moving forward with surgery for his own self-interested reasons. Plaintiff contended that the surgery that made plaintiff's condition far worse than it already was. Moreover, plaintiff contended that it was defendant's first time using a new technique when performing such an arthroscopic shoulder repair surgery utilizing a graft procedure.
Further, defendant failed to monitor plaintiff carefully post-surgery. Defendant caused plaintiff to leave the surgery in a sling without any instructions regarding the mix of rest and activity, and without a prescription for compression stockings, which elevated plaintiff's risk for developing a post-surgical pulmonary embolism. Plaintiff did in fact develop an acute pulmonary embolism for which he was hospitalized for two days and required ongoing care. Prior to the operation, plaintiff was still able to work at his high-paying job but was unable to work a single day after the operation.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied the contentions.

Result

The case settled for $250,000.