SLS attorneys defended a physician in a jury trial in Jackson County, Missouri in November 2019.  Plaintiff was admitted to the hospital through the ER for bleeding into her lungs (hemoptysis). A bronchoscopy determined the source of the bleeding was plaintiff’s bronchial artery — the artery that supplies blood to the bronchi and connective tissue of the lungs.  SLS’s client, an interventional radiologist, performed a successful embolism of the bronchial artery, which stopped the bleeding into plaintiff’s lungs. The bronchial artery access was made through the brachial artery in plaintiff’s left arm. When the procedure was finished plaintiff suffered from bleeding and a hematoma at the puncture site in her left arm.

Plaintiff was initially followed by SLS’s client and then an orthopedic surgeon, who was consulted to rule out compartment syndrome. Plaintiff was discharged from the hospital four days after the procedure. Two days later, plaintiff was readmitted through the ER with a pseudoaneurysm in her left arm. Plaintiff suffered an injury to the median nerve in her left arm causing pain and some loss of function in her left hand. A later surgery was unsuccessful at resolving her pain or functional limitations. Plaintiff claimed that the interventional radiologist represented by SLS was negligent in the manner in which he provided post-procedure care and by not seeking a consult with a vascular surgeon as soon as the bleeding appeared. Plaintiff asked the jury for $2.2 million in damages. After six days of trial, the jury returned a defense verdict in favor of SLS’s client.