Date: 10-18-2013

Case Style: Stephanie Keener v. Muskogee Regional Medical Center, LLC

Case Number: CJ-2011-6001

Judge: Daman H. Cantrell

Court: District Court, Tulsa County, Oklahoma

Plaintiff's Attorney: Ken Ray Underwood

Defendant's Attorney: Elizabeth K. Hall

Description: Stephanie Keener sued Muskogee Regional Medical Center, LLC, Capella Holdings of Oklahoma, LLC, Capella Healthcare, Inc. and Janet C. Matthews, D.O. on medical negligence (medical malpractice) theories claiming:

On June 9, 2010, Stephanie Keener was admitted to the Muskogee Regional Medical Center for laparoscopic tubal cauterization to be performed by Dr. Janet Matthews, DO. Stephanie expected that the sterilization procedure would on].y take an hour and that she would likely be released from the hospital the same day. Instead, her iliac artery was lacerated during the tubal causing extensive bleeding in the recovery room. Stephanie was returned to surgery where a vascular surgeon attempted to repair the lacerated artery.

Stephanie continued to have complications with wound healing and she had two additional operations performed by a vascular surgeon to address complications arising from the lacerated iliac artery.

Stephanie never had previous injuries or issues with the iliac artery which was lacerated by Dr. Matthews during tubal sterilization procedure.

The Plaintiff contends that she was injured by a medical mistake made by Dr. Matthews when she cut an artery and did not know what she had cut. This position is supported by the expert testimony of Dr. Michael Baggish an experienced and respected surgeon who has written extensively on gynecology and pelvic surgery. He concluded that the surgery performed by Dr. Matthews was below the standard of care and that she lacked a basic understanding of the female pelvic anatomy and lacked the necessary training and understanding of the electrosurgical equipment being used during Stephanie’s surgery.

The defenses asserted by the Defendants to the claims made by Plaintiff are not available.

Outcome: Settled for a confidential sum and dismissed with prejudice.

Plaintiff's Experts: Richard A. Hastings, Michael Baggish, M.D., St. Helena, California, Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency, The John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland Surgical Residency The Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, Maryland; Fellowship Gynecologic Pathology The Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, Maryland; Author: Atlas of Pelvic Anatomy and Gynecologic Surgery

Defendant's Experts: Julie Hager, M.D.

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