On January 21, 2025, a New Jersey medical malpractice jury returned its verdict in the amount of $2,040,000 in favor of a man who suffered nerve injury and required further surgery after undergoing a torn tendon repair surgery. The New Jersey medical malpractice plaintiff alleged that during the February 18, 2018 surgery to repair a torn left bicep tendon he suffered while lifting weights, the surgeon negligently lacerated a nerve that resulted in pain and reduced movement in his left hand.
The man had to undergo a second surgery performed by another surgeon, on April 7, 2018, after which the man noted marked improvement three months after the procedure following a course of physical therapy.
The defense argued at trial that nerve injury is a known risk of the procedure and that the man suffered from neuropraxia caused by the nerve being stretched or bruised when it was moved with a retractor during surgery, which causes a patient to have difficulty moving their fingers for a period of time after surgery but typically improves over time. However, in the man’s case, his nerve was reportedly severed: “The nerve was cut in half, as opposed to being stretched or bruised. It wasn’t an inherent risk. It was something that he did. Everyone agrees, including our experts, that’s a risk of the procedure. But here, that’s not what happened. We know what happened because subsequent doctors went in to explore the cause of my client’s problems. And the nerve had been cut in half.”
Tendons are tough, stretchy tissues that join muscles to bone. Their job is to allow the body to move and to transfer weight. Tendons also help protect joints from damage.
There are two main types of tendon:
- Flexor tendons, which work by tightening to pull on the bones. An example of using a flexor tendon is when someone makes a fist.
- Extensor tendons, which work by stretching when a part of the body needs to move outward, such as when standing on the toes or straightening the fingers.
Tendon repair surgery, while generally successful, carries inherent risks like any surgical procedure. These include infection, bleeding, nerve damage, and blood clots, as well as specific risks like scar tissue formation, adhesion formation, and potential re-rupture or weakening of the repaired tendon. Additionally, some individuals may experience prolonged pain or partial loss of function in the affected joint.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of medical negligence in New Jersey or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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