Defense Verdict In Queens County

Michael Sullivan received a defense verdict on August 16, 2011 before the Honorable Duane A. Hart in Queens County Supreme Court in a medical malpractice action.

Plaintiff alleged that the defendants negligently failed to properly diagnose and treat an intestinal obstruction that was being caused by retractile mesenteritis which fused her bowel inside a large, inflammatory mass.  Plaintiff, who initially underwent surgery for a small bowel obstruction on October 17, 2004 and then was returned to the operating room on November 5, 2004 because she continued to have signs and symptoms of an obstruction, claimed that her mesenteritis should have been diagnosed by biopsy during the initial surgery and also on a CT scan performed between the two surgeries.  Plaintiff alleged that the surgery on November 5th was contraindicated by the mesenteritis and improperly performed.  Plaintiff then claimed that the defendants failed to treat the mesenteritis with medication in a timely manner.

Mr. Sullivan argued successfully that there was no indication for biopsies during the initial surgery and no basis for diagnosing plaintiff’s mesenteritis during that surgery or on the subsequent radiological studies.  Further, he established that the November 5, 2004 surgery was performed in a proper manner and that the defendants’ post-operative treatment of plaintiff’s rare condition was appropriate in all respects.

The jury returned a defense verdict after deliberating for one hour.