Professional Negligence Law Reporter
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Mishandled Catheterization
July/August 2019Fairrow v. OhioHealth Corp., No. 17 CV 001898 (Ohio Ct. Com. Pl. Franklin Cnty. Mar. 1, 2019).
Ronald Fairrow, 56, underwent an appendectomy at Riverside Methodist Hospital. Surgical resident Alon Geva and nurse Megan Conrad attempted to insert a urinary catheter but encountered resistance. They made multiple attempts until a physician properly inserted the catheter. Several days after surgery, Fairrow suffered severe bleeding in his urethra and later underwent surgery to stop the blood flow. He was unable to urinate due to urethral damage and required Foley and suprapubic catheters for several months until he underwent urethral reconstruction surgery.
Fairrow and his wife sued the hospital; its parent company, Geva; and Conrad, alleging the resident and nurse mishandled the catheterization. The plaintiffs asserted the two had created false passages with the multiple catheterization attempts, which led to the excessive bleeding. The plaintiffs also claimed that Geva and Conrad had applied excessive force when performing the catheterization.
The plaintiffs did not claim lost income.
The jury awarded the plaintiffs more than $1.7 million, which was reduced to approximately $1 million
under Ohio law.
Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Kathy A. Dougherty and Sarah Lodge, both of Columbus, Ohio.
Plaintiff experts: Janet Carr, nursing, Alliance, Ohio; and Jonathan Vapnek, urology, New York City.
Defense expert: James Donovan Jr., urology, Cincinnati.