$9 Million Dollar Verdict For Child’s Hand Injury: A Georgia medical malpractice jury deliberated for two days after a six-day trial in early April 2023 before returning its verdict in the amount of $9 million for the serious and permanent injuries a 7-year-old suffered as a result of a splint that was applied too tight in treating her fractured arm.
Defendants Dr. Yvonne Satterwhite and Resurgens Orthopaedics were found to be responsible for the child’s disfigured left hand as a result of their medical negligence in 2016 that required the child to undergo multiple surgeries and extensive and continuing physical and occupational therapy to address the limited use of her left hand.
The plaintiff’s Georgia medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that the defendants breached the standard of care by wrapping the child’s splint with a self-adhesive Coban wrap over an ACE flexible wrap that cut circulation to the child’s hand. The child reportedly complained that the splint was too tight at the time it was applied but her complaints fell on deaf ears.
The defense argued that Dr. Satterwhite wrapped the splint appropriately and that the child’s injury was unrelated to the splint and was due to a rare collection of fluid in the child’s arm that was unrelated to the wrapped splint: “[It’s] a rare injury nobody has ever seen. It’s like burn-like injuries downstream from the release of whatever this material was. And that’s not anyone’s fault.”
The plaintiff’s lawyer stated after the verdict: “Dr. Satterwhite knew she had created a dangerous wrap with Coban that caused an injury and then what did she do? She intentionally, multiple times, deleted Coban from [the child’s] medical record. She knew that was important information, and she actively deleted it.”
The defense attempted to explain the change that Dr. Satterwhite made to her medical note as a not atypical edit made before the final version of the note and was made at a time when she did not know the extent of the child’s injury: “[Any reference to] Coban was not important at that point in time. And she did not know there was going to be any sort of bad outcome. She didn’t alter any medical record. She edited transcription.”
The defendants had reportedly offered $2 million to settle the case before trial which was not accepted by the plaintiff.
The defense attorney stated after the verdict: “This was a difficult, hotly contested case with an incredibly sympathetic young plaintiff and with a very appealing family. Efforts were made to try and settle the case pre-suit but the plaintiffs and the defense had a wide disparity in evaluation of the case. Thus, the case went to the jury to decide. We had strong expert support for Dr. Satterwhite’s care and mounted an aggressive defense. But, the jury saw the case as they did and we respect their verdict.”
Source Velaga v. Resurgens Orthopaedics, Inc., 18EV005600.
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