Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis Medical Center, Mercy, Methodist, or Sutter.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury case and its proceedings.)
Plaintiff sets forth triable issues of material fact demonstrating that moving defendant breached the standard of care in their care and treatment of Sandy White through the expert declaration of Board Certified orthopedic surgeon, Robert Lee, M.D. As more fully set forth in Dr. Wagner’s declaration attached hereto, he has reviewed the relevant records in this matter and is qualified to offer his expert opinions with regard to Dr. Hall’s negligence.
Based on his education, training, experience, and review of the records, Dr. Wagner opines that Dr. Hall breached the standard of care as follows: (a) Negligently fitting and placing the tibial component of the total knee replacement during the November 30, 2004 surgery, and (b) negligently failing to recognize and revise the components of the total knee replacements during Dr. Hall’s subsequent surgeries on Ms. White’s left knee on January 27, 2005 and May 28, 2005. The total knee replacement surgery of November 30, 2005, involved the placing of three components in Ms. White’s left knee: a patellar component, a tibial component, and a femoral component.
It is Dr. Wagner’s expert opinion that Dr. Hall breached the standard of care in failing to properly align the tibial component with the bone. This opinion is based on Dr. Gregory Brown’s November 30, 2005 Operative Report, wherein Dr. Brown noted that the tibial component of Ms. White’s left total knee replacement was internally rotated approximately 20 degrees. It is Dr. Wagner’s expert opinion, based on the standard of care for orthopedic surgeons as it existed in November of 2005, that the standard of care required that there be no more than a 10-degree mis-alignment of the tibial component and that anything above a 10-degree mis-alignment of the tibial component is a breach of the standard of care.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
Further, it is Dr. Wagner’s opinion that Dr. Hall breached the standard of care during the revision surgeries he performed on Ms. White on or about January 27, 2005 and May 28, 2005. Dr. Wagner opines that the standard of care required that Dr. Hall recognize the significant 20-degree mis-alignment of Ms. White’s tibial component and perform a revision of the mis-aligned tibial component, which is what was causing the misalignment of Ms. White’s knee and what was causing her patella to mal-track and sublux. Dr. Hall breached the standard of care in failing to recognize and revise the significant mis-alignment of the left tibial component, on both the January 27, 2005 and May 28, 2005 surgeries on Ms. White’s left knee. Instead, Dr. Hall performed surgeries that did not address the problem, which was the significant mis-alignment of the tibial component. (See Part 8 of 9.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.