A New Jersey medical malpractice jury awarded a 66-year-old woman who suffered a perforated esophagus that was not timely diagnosed postoperatively $10 million, and her late husband $1 million for his loss of consortium, on September 10, 2024. The jury found the defendant medical practice negligent but also found the surgeon not negligent.
The woman had surgery in May 2016 on her esophagus to treat her Zenker’s diverticulum. Two days later, while at home, she experienced neck pain, right shoulder and arm pain, and pain in the area of her trapezius. Her husband contacted the medical practice but her complaints were not documented. The following day, the woman contacted her surgeon but again her complaints were not documented in her medical record. Because of her excruciating pain, she went to an urgent care facility the same day. Her husband contacted the medical practice again a few days later when his wife’s pain did not get any better.
The woman went to an urgent care facility once again, then an emergency room, and finally to an orthopedic group after which she was finally diagnosed with a microperforation of her esophagus that led to an infection of her spine because it went untreated.
Plaintiff’s otolaryngologist expert testified during trial that the surgeon did not breach the standard of care in performing the surgery but that the follow-up care did breach the standard of care: there were signs and symptoms of a microperforation of the esophagus that were not acted on appropriately by the surgeon who had a duty to further assess and investigate the woman’s symptoms.
Because of the delay in the diagnosis and treatment of the microperforation of her esophagus, the woman developed discitis/osteomyelitis that required a disc excision as well as an anterior/posterior approach for fusion at C6 and C7, according to trial testimony. Her expert testified that had the woman been promptly placed on conservative intravenous antibiotic therapy, she most likely would have avoided the cervical fusion. According to the expert, the woman is at risk for adjacent-level disease in her cervical spine, which could require potential future surgery.
The woman was fed through a nasogastric tube for approximately five days while her esophageal microperforation healed, after which she was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility. She was eventually discharged home, where she continued with intravenous antibiotics and had physical therapy.
Testimony at trial established that she had 9/10 out of 10 pain for weeks.
The defense argued that a cervical infection, including osteomyelitis, would not have been suspected subsequent to the woman’s surgery because she had no fever or other symptoms typically associated with infection.
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