Mr. Colombo recently represented a client from Fairmont in a medical malpractice case against an anesthesiologist who was practicing at Fairmont General Hospital. Mr. Colombo’s client had been admitted to FGH and was undergoing orthopedic surgery to replace his hip. The client had a history of high blood pressure (hypertension) and the hip replacement surgery was expected to be a prolonged or time consuming surgery.
Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist who cared for the client during this surgery neglected to pay attention to the client’s vital signs and committed medical malpractice by allowing the client’s blood pressure to drop to dangerously low levels (hypotension) for several hours. As a result of prolonged low blood pressure the client had significant damage to his optic nerve and had severe and permanent vision loss (legally blind). This lawsuit was filed in Fairmont, West Virginia and after a brief period of discovery a confidential settlement was obtained on behalf of the client.