Lawyers at DBMS successfully litigate a wide variety of civil cases and argue appeals in some of the most challenging jurisdictions in the country.
DBMS Obtains a Defense Verdict in Cook County
Physician
Outcome:Defense Verdict
John McGarry and Jacinta Reck of Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC successfully defended a bariatric surgeon at trial where plaintiff alleged the surgeon negligently left a foreign body in the patient. In 2008, the surgeon placed a gastric lap band. The manufacturer notified consignees of a recall of the band in 2010 due to a part detaching and becoming a foreign body. The recall did not require explantation. In 2015, the surgeon removed the lap band for an unrelated reason, and the part remained in the patient. Plaintiff had abdominal pain that eventually lead to a CT scan, a laparotomy to remove the foreign body, an incisional hernia, and infection. Experts testified plaintiff was at risk for future post-surgical complications, additional surgeries, and stress related to worry of the risk of those procedures. The general surgeon denied he was negligent and had no reason to suspect a foreign body would remain after the removal of the band. After a week-long trial, the jury returned a verdict for the defense.