Cleveland, OH: When a patient goes in for surgery there is a certain expectation as to the outcome, given the usual risks for unexpected complications inherent with operating on living, breathing human tissue. However when an operating room fire erupts that is not of the patient's doing and is caused by alleged carelessness, medical malpractice becomes a potential issue. A patient, who sued for medical malpractice negligence under the jurisdiction of medical malpractice law, was recently awarded $1.3 million.
Here's the story. A young woman named Lauren Wargo went under the knife to have a mole removed from her right eyebrow. A fairly routine procedure, performed in an operating theatre by a plastic surgeon. The patient was sedated, and was receiving oxygen supplementation via a facemask. An anesthesia assistant was controlling the flow of oxygen.
It was at this point that Dr. Bryan Michelow, of Contemporary Cosmetics of Ohio, is alleged to have activated an electrocautery device commonly known as a bovie. Wargo suffered second-degree burns on her face and neck as a result of the fire in the operating room of the Zeeba Surgery Center.
During a subsequent medical malpractice lawsuit, it was reported that Dr. Michelow blamed the anesthesia assistant for not being aware that the surgeon intended to use the bovie, thus failing to adjust the oxygen level or turn off the supply of oxygen altogether.
Pure oxygen is highly flammable.
A medical malpractice trial was conducted in Court of Common Pleas at Cuyahoga County, Ohio. At the end of the day a jury found Dr. Michelow to be 100 percent responsible for the fire, exonerating the anesthesia assistant At trial the jury also found that Dr. Michelow concealed from the patient and Lauren's parents the true cause of the fire that left her with painful second-degree burns.
The plaintiff alleged that Dr. Michelow was negligent in failing to communicate to the anesthesia assistant controlling the oxygen flow that he was about to use the bovie—which would have been the assistant's cue to stem the flow of oxygen. However the jury didn't agree and found for the plaintiff, awarding a grand total of $1.3 million in a medical malpractice award for the young woman's pain and suffering.
Medical malpractice negligence is serious stuff, especially when a patient is harmed unnecessarily. When medical malpractice occurs or is alleged, medical malpractice law serves to ensure justice is served.
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