Theodoros & Rooth obtained a verdict from a Lake County jury in Hammond, Indiana, for a woman who was injured by an unnecessary, ill-advised pain management procedure.

Our client had unusual pain at the site of her incision after gallbladder surgery and was referred to the defendant, a pain specialist at St. Margaret's Hospital. After taking the plaintiff's history and performing an initial assessment, the defendant attempted to numb the affected area with a local injection. After that failed, the defendant decided to inject phenol, an acid that would destroy the nerve, in hopes of permanently relieving the pain. However, in the words of our client, the phenol injection made the pain "ten times worse."

The case was presented to a Medical Review Panel consisting of three doctors. The Panel review is required under the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act, a law passed by the insurance lobby and out then-governor, Dr. Otis Bowen, in 1975, for the protection of physicians and other health-care providers. The Panel members initially gave opinions in favor of the defendant; however, when they were called as expert witnesses by the defense at trial, they admitted on cross-examination that the vast weight of the medical literature did not support their opinions.

During the course of the trial, we argued that the defendant failed to obtain our client's informed consent for the phenol injection and that the procedure was not indicated, because he failed to first try less risky procedures. The jury agreed and awarded damages to compensate our client for a lifetime of pain.

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