Newsletter
Issue 1
$4.5 Million Verdict
Aaron Freiwald won $4.5 million verdict in September 2005 in a medical negligence case that was tried in Philadelphia. Associate Danyl Patterson assisted Mr. Freiwald during the trial of the case.
The case involved surgery performed on John Pritchard, a 76 year old gentleman with recurrent bladder cancer. The surgery, performed by Dr. Richard Greenberg, involved removal of Mr. Pritchard’s bladder and prostate and then the fashioning of a conduit for urine to pass out of the body through the abdomen. Mr. Pritchard had numerous pre-existing medical problems, including cardiac and lung dysfunction. Mr. Pritchard also had a non-functioning left kidney, according to a CT scan done just prior to an initial visit with Dr. Greenberg in May 2001. As part of the pre-op testing, Dr. Greenberg ordered a kidney function test, which is a kind of x-ray study. The radiology tech mislabeled the films in the kidney study so that it appeared that Mr. Pritchard had a non-functioning right kidney. Dr. Greenberg performed the surgery on July 5, 2001, but connected the wrong kidney –the non-functioning kidney–to the urinary conduit. When the problem was discovered the following day, Mr. Pritchard required a second surgery. Unfortunately, Mr. Pritchard deteriorated and he passed away three weeks later, never having left the hospital.
Dr. Greenberg refused to consent, requiring that the trial go forward. The jury awarded $4.4 million in damages for pain and suffering and $100,000 for Mr. Pritchard’s medical expenses.