Professional Negligence Law Reporter

Trevon Falson, 18, suffered from congestive heart failure. He underwent surgery for implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), a battery-operated mechanical pump with an outflow graft. To access the heart, providers performed a sternotomy. The following year, Falson was admitted to Emory University Hospital to undergo a heart transplant. His treating surgeon used a saw to divide the sternum and enter the chest cavity. During the re-sternotomy, the LVAD’s outflow graft was lacerated, resulting in massive bleeding. The heart transplant continued, but Falson was unable to be taken off cardiopulmonary bypass. He died less than two months later and is survived by his mother.

Falson’s mother, individually and on behalf of his estate, sued Emory Healthcare, Inc., and others, alleging failure to order and review a chest CT scan after the LVAD implantation and before the heart transplant. Had the test been performed, the plaintiffs asserted, it would have been revealed that the outflow graft had adhered to the posterior of the sternum, and the injury to the outflow graft could have been avoided.

The jury awarded over $38.6 million.

Citation: Brown v. Emory Healthcare, Inc., No. 18A72075-5 (Ga. St. Ct. DeKalb Cnty. Nov. 9, 2023).

Plaintiff counsel: Lee Gutschenritter, Richard Hendrix, and David Hanson, all of Atlanta.