Defense Verdict: Miami-Dade County, Florida (Medical Malpractice)

Miami partner T. Michael Kennedy and associate Roxette Gonzalez recently obtained a defense verdict in a medical malpractice trial in Miami-Dade County.

Plaintiff in this case presented to our client for surgery to repair the first metatarsal phalangeal joint of his left great toe. During the surgery, our client podiatric surgeon discovered a condition that had not been visible on the pre-op films, and made the decision intra-operatively to remove Plaintiff’s tibial sesamoid bone as a remedy. Following the surgery, Plaintiff alleged that this decision caused him to experience excessive pain and toe drift, and required him to undergo a revision surgery to fuse the joint. He further claimed that the pain from the surgery and the subsequent revisions forced him to retire from his job as a professor five years earlier than he had originally planned.

The defense presented evidence and expert testimony that all supported the theory that our client had not deviated from the standard of care, and that the intra-operative removal of the sesamoid bone was necessary; and also that the pain and toe drift the Plaintiff experienced was a natural result of the surgery itself and the underlying arthritis that necessitated the surgery in the first place.

After a five day trial, Plaintiff asked the jury for $2 million in closing arguments. The jury found no negligence on the part of our client, and returned a complete defense verdict.