By Brandon Ortiz
bortiz@herald-leader.com
A $9.89 million civil verdict was returned Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by a Lexington hairdresser who became paraplegic after a routine heart surgery.
A Fayette Circuit Court jury assigned 31 percent of fault — or $3,057,894.49 — to the surgeon, Dr. Michael Sekela of Surgical Associates of Lexington. The verdicts against the other defendants, Fresenius Medical Care and Central Kentucky Anesthesia, are moot because they had already settled with the patient and did not participate in the trial, said Sekela’s attorney, Rich Schiller of Louisville.
A review of the Kentucky Trial Court Review indicates that Wednesday’s verdict could be the largest medical malpractice verdict to ever come out of Fayette County.
The plaintiff, Latricia Satterwhite, had surgery on her mitral valve in her heart on April 19, 2006. The surgery took less than an hour and was successful.
But, according to medical experts who testified on her behalf, the surgeon misplaced the cannula, or hose, for a machine that pumps blood during the surgery. The misplacement caused too much blood and oxygen to be pumped to her right hand and too little to her brain and thoracic spinal cord, the experts testified.
Satterwhite, who worked at the Great Clips on East High Street, can no longer walk. She also suffered mild to moderate brain damage, said her attorney, James Bolus of Louisville.
“No one wins here,” Bolus said. “The surgeon has to live with the fact this occurred. Unfortunately, he wanted to go trial.”
Schiller said Sekela disputes that the cannula was misplaced or that he caused her paralysis.
Schiller said that they are considering an appeal.
“Its always unhappy when you have a verdict like this,” Schiller said. “We are in shock and disbelief that it happened.”
Satterwhite was awarded $455,229.06 in past medical experiences and $4,426,408.72 for future medical bills. She was awarded $482,538 in lost wages and $4.5 million for pain and suffering.
The total verdict was $9,864,175.78.
Sekela was found at fault by a 10-2 vote of the jury. The anesthesiologist shared 23 percent of the fault, and the perfusionist, the person who operates the heart-lung machine. was responsible for 41 percent of fault, the jury found.
Too much money in the award. Give her enough to live the rest of her life but not this lottery windfall. We need tort reform.
Try it yourself, Kimothy Sparks.
Would you become a paraplegic for $9.8 million?
I didn’t think so.
Tort reform is code for no longer making careless and reckless people responsible for their conduct and mistakes. Tort reform is code for making taxpayers, through welfare programs, pay for doctors’ mistakes instead of the doctors themselves through their insurers.
Re: Ms. Sparks’ “insight”–Before criticising, deal with the ultimate question–”Would she trade places with the victim/injured and take the money?” If not, then her call for “tort reform”, i.e., limiting awards to what someone who never suffered a loss(!!!!), has no conscience or heart, and wants to give medical folk total immunity from responsibility, arbitrarily decides, is bogus….
Kimberly, how much money would you award Ms. Satterwhite?
If her past medical expenses were close to a half million dollars for two years and she was awarded $4.5 million for future expenses - is this indicative she is only expected to live another 20 years? I’d consider that extremely disheartening if I were a 30 or 40 year old.
Besides losing her ability to walk, the woman also lost part of her brain. I pray that she is able to regain some function through rehab, which is also costly. Considering her physical and mental state, her entire world collapsed. She went from an independant wage earning woman to a woman dependant on the assistance and care from other people.
If she is ever able to live on her own again, her home will have to be built to accomodate her now limited mobility. If she is able to drive ever again, she will require a specially equipped vehicle.
I know so little about this particular case, still I can’t imagine having to sit in judgement of how much vs. too much.
Woe be with the ones who ever find themselves in Ms. Satterwhite’s predicament.
Re: Ms. Sparks’ comment. Your comment that living with brain damage and being unable to walk has been a boon to Ms. Satterwhite is both ignorant and disturbing. Do you honestly think she wouldn’t trade the money in a heartbeat to be made whole again?
Doctors are people not God’s. To error is human. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could sue everyone for thier mistakes? Could you see yourself suing the counter person at McDonalds because she put your special order cheeseburger in wrong and to have it remade made you late getting back to work on your lunch break and thus you were fired? Wouldn’t the counter person ultimately be responsible for you losing your job? After all if she had placed the order for your cheeseburger right you wouldn’t have been late. So couldn’t you sue her for all the mental anguish that the loss of your job could place on you. I know your wondering how this relates to heart surgery but think about it, aren’t there some risks associated with every surgery that are explained to you before hand? These are risks you have to take with medical science. You just have to relize before going under the knife that your only educated on the most likely ones and that negative possibilities are endless. I the pointed finger placed fairly on who is at fault, however the apology is a little overdone.
It is appalling to hear an individual make a remark that this woman was awarded too much money. What about future aspirations for her life? Do we honestly believe Ms. Satterwhite had no ideas of self-improvement for the future? Are we to believe that she is satisfied to struggle with daily living activities, let alone being physically or mentally capable of meeting any personal future goals?? Somehow I think Ms. Satterwhite would likely give back every penny if it would mean returning to her full potential as an independent woman….Shame on anyone who would judge……….
Ms. Sparks,
If you truly think this is a “windfall” or that pain and suffering is not very real simply forego the few dollars for Novacaine the next time you go to the dentist. Then imagine what the lady will have to deal with every day for the rest of her life.
The lack of compassion for your fellow human beings is no different than that demonstrated by many of the Wall Street CEOs who have virtually bankrupted our country. They are the same people who have been saying we have to stop “junk lawsuits”, “jackpot justice”, or the “lawsuit lottery.”
Wahoo, I hit the lottery!! Wait, why can’t I walk or remember anything? This kinda sucks.
Kimothy Sparks, you are an idiot.
I didn’t know a hairdresser employed at Great Clips makes $400,000. We’re all in the wrong business aren’t we? I thought we are to be tried by a jury of our peers. I doubt there were 12 board certified cardiothoracic surgeons on the jury. Funny how our society regards physicians these days. Instead of intelligent dedicated people they are money hungry and cold individualsand must pay when our sick family members don’t do so well. If people went into medicine for money they missed the mark completely. You can make a hell of alot of money on wall street and certainly not have to sacrifice years syudying and staying up all night. Nor do you have to be viewed as the bad guy when you tell someone they have cancer from smoking their entire life or heart disease from adult onset diabetes from not moving their bodies and sitting at the table too long. If someone needs heart surgery they are not in olympic athlete condition to begin with. Is it so hard to conceive that bad things still happen even if everything is done perfectly? Have any of you done your jobs whatever they may be and things still not work out? You’re ridiculous in stating that the surgeon was reckless and made mistakes. It’s actually comical how ignorant you are. Were you there? Are you a board certified experienced cardiothoracic surgeon? I think not.
i agree with sparks
don’t be fooled. This will NEVER be enough money to pay the expenses that will be incurred. The insurance industry wants you to think it is some type of windfall. aside from ruining this person’s life- taking that out of the equation, they will have a hard time surviving on this money. very very sad situation. people need to take responsbility for their actions- that is why doctors should be required to have adequate insurance. Additionally, this litigation would have cost a great deal to bring- and the legal fees and expenses of bringing this litigation- including court costs and medical expert fees (which could easily be 5K an hour for doctor testimony) are going to be huge.
“”No one wins here” said Bolus.” No one except Bolus - what’s his take - 30%, 50%?? That’s where the problem lies with these cases. And guess what? You and I will be paying more for our insurance, not only because of the surgeon’s alleged mistake, but this award!
Really too bad. I don’t know the facts, but I can tell you that Dr. Sekela saved my life with 5 bypasses and is one of the most articulate and thorough doctors that I have ever met. He was recommended to me by a world renowned heart transplant surgeon. Based on my experience, I have a hard time believing that he could make this type of mistake. In any case, I believe that the award is too high.
Sparks, you’re an idiot. Angela, you may even be more of an idiot. One can only hope that you or your family is not the victim of malpractice or a negligent driver that leaves you brain damaged and unable to walk. But if it happens, can we count on you to not seek re-dress from the negligent at fault party? Because that’s exactly what this doctor was, negligent, as determined by a jury that his attorney help choose. People like you two need to really shut up and only be thought of as an idiot rather than speaking up and removing all doubt. Scary what roams in our society.
We all might be idiots. What if Ms. Satterwhite had not had the surgery? What was her life expectancy? What would her quality of life have been? Surgical procedures carry no guarantees. If you want a guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong, don’t have the procedure - pure and simple.
‘Woe is me’ needs to do some math. $400,000 over a 20 year career is only $20,000 per year.
I think Dr.Sekela should stop providing outstanding medical care to our community. When someone is dying of heart disease he should suggest they call their scumbag lawyer to save them.
Before you judge…..sit down and add up wages for 20 years, medical expenses, daily home health care, etc. Then add a conservative figure what you value your independence, quality of life, and longevity to be. The money awarded will cover the basics. She won\’t be buying summer homes on the coast or buzzing around in a fancy sports car - (remember she\’s paralyzed). On the other hand, I \’m sure the surgeon did not intentionally try to harm the poor woman - it was an accident/mistake or an oversight during the procedure. In our society people are expected to be held accountable for their mistakes. Skella lost this suit when he chose not to admit fault and settle out of court. I guess Skella and his lawyer learned they are both fallible.
If you didn’t sit through the trial and hear ALL of the evidence, you have no business criticising the verdict. We seem to think we need to have an opinion, and voice it, on the outcome of every trial. Med mal cases are complex, by necessity. There is always plenty of evidence on both sides. From my work, i can tell you that Docs and hospitals are very well defended in this country by very fine lawyers. Secondly, tort reform is essentially the legislature telling our peers that they are too stupid to evaluate damages correctly. With tort reform, “elites”(legislators) determine damages, not ordinary citizens, when caps are imposed. Let Joe six-pack decide, not a legislator 100s of miles away from the community!
Don’t you all realize that we tax payers will be providing care from now on since she will qualify for disability.
Kimothy Sparks, your comment reflects many things about you..too many to go into here…but one thing is for sure…Ms. Satterwhite would be glad to trade places with you..Im sure of that…think about that…and think how inhumane your comment was. The 700 billion dollar bailout isn’t enough to compensate for this womans future. People this day and time..what is it with them? Mankind is overbreeding or inbreeding the compassion out of itself.
I have lived long enough to witness that people like Sparks, Anglea, and “Woe is Me” will experience a tragedy in their lives close to the one of Ms. Satterwhites. I have seen this more than once. Somehow someway, life has a strange way of coming back and biting you in the a s s. They will be humbled, as sad as it will be for them, they will be humbled.
I, for one, would not begrudege her one penny of disability. Isn’t that what it’s for?
The amount she will receive after the greedy legal systems helps itself to their half will not, in all probability, be enought to pay her care until her death.
Tort reform is inappropriate here. Now, if you get a burn on your leg from hot coffee, doubt that is making you totally disabled for life …… a little tort reform there might be in order. You think?
Did you not see that 69% of the verdict is moot? So out of the $3,057,894.49 verdict that will stand, after attorney fees and expenses, she is looking at only around $1.7 million and that is IF there are no subrogation liens to repay to her insurance company for the $450,000.00 in past medical bills, which would leave her with close to $1.25 million left over. I wouldn’t trade my pinkie finger for $1.25 million dollars let alone become a paraplegic. Would you?
Just because she sued the doctor doesn’t mean he is a horrible person or that she is saying so. Yes, he is human and he makes mistakes, but that doesn’t excuse them. She is human and she has rights. That is why he carries insurance–for when he makes those “human” mistakes. I do not see why you people get so bent out of shape over this. She is obviously hurt. It is not a frivolous lawsuit. So what is the issue? And why does the lawyer have to be a “scumbag lawyer?” Because he helped her get compensated for her injuries? You have no idea the work that goes into a medical malpractice case do you? I can assure you, the attorney earned his money. If anything horrible like this ever happens to you or anyone close to you, I promise you your position and outlook on this issue will change—and will change very quickly.
Ms Sparks
Turn off Rush Limbaugh and think for yourself. You might find that your fear has been instilled in you by the poison you fill your head with head with. Compensation for injury caused by fault does not theaten you, or take any money from your family. If you believe otherwise, you are simply misinformed and do not understand the concept, purpose or operation of insurance.
SAC I agree with you completely.
Only winner here is the attorney.
Dr. Sekela has saved countless lives and is an excellent surgeon. He is well respected. It is unfortunate what happened to Mrs. Satterwhite but ANY surgery involves risks up to and including death. I wouldn’t let anybody but Dr. Sekela do heart surgery on me or my family.
What ever happened to informed consent? As a nurse, it is well known to me that all the risks of ANY surgery are discussed with patients prior to surgery. Becoming parlayzed, brain damage, and of course, um…death are all risks involved in cardiothoracic surgery. It’s a chance you take when you opt to go under the knife for any procedure.
I have worked closely with Dr. Michael Sekela for the past four years. Not only have I cared for his patients…I have been a patient of his myself. Why did I choose Dr. Sekela to be at my bedside? Because he is the best in his business in this region of the country. Just Google him…he has saved countless lives by either fixing their hearts, lungs, aortas, or by providing organ transplants. This man is not only an extremely talented surgeon…he cares about his patients and goes above and beyond to care for them. Maybe you should take a look at a Kentucky Organ Donation information video, and you will see 17 people that are still alive and well today because of this man. The rest are countless.
Dr Sekela chose to go to trial because he knew he did not commit malpractice in this case. He is not a pompous man. The mistake that was described in this article is not a mistake he would have made, and he felt he would have been tried fairly and prevail. He didnt become the accomplished physician he is today because he is stupid. This ruling is unfair to this fine man that serves the central Kentucky area in more ways than most know. I find it so disappointing that after all the good this man has brought to the world, this is what he gets in return. A jury of peers? What does a Thornton’s clerk know about heart surgery? Nothing. It was an unfair trial.
So, if Dr Sekela is reading this..please know that your colleagues are behind you 100 percent. And if momma or daddy needs heart surgery…You are the Man, Uncle Mike.
Hard to know for sure since I wasn’t at the trial to hear all of the testimony, but it seems the jury (not surprisingly) inappropriately divided the fault. 41% to the perfusionist, who runs the heart-lung machine, yet has 0% to do with the (mis)placement of the cannula, which, according to the paper’s report, caused this terrible accident. 23% to the anesthesiologist who, again, has 0% to do with cannula placement. With that said, it is 100% clear to me, someone who has worked with Dr. Sekela on many open-heart procedures (many of which were much more complex than this one), and being able to compare his skill as a surgeon to over forty other surgeons that I’ve personally worked with in my career, that this was a regrettable, terrible accident, which unfortunately (and thankfully infrequently) can happen during all, simple and complex, medical procedures. Dr. Sekela is among the top two or three best surgeons I’ve worked with and not only would, but actually have, recommended him to very dear friends who are, unfortunately, in need of the types of services he provides.
I wish Ms. Satterwhite well as she navigates what must be a completely different landscape than she experienced prior to this accident and hope that through rehabilitation, and perhaps more likely the “miracle of modern medicine,” she will someday regain that which this accident took from her.
“A nurse that knows” does know what they are talking about and Bill does too. The surgeon is not the only one in the room involved in a patient’s case. First and foremost in an OR there needs to be communication and that seemed to be missing here. Dr. Sekela is one of the best surgeons I know, and I know quite a few.
I fully comply with Bill in wishing well to Ms. Satterwhite.
First off how many of you people have had any kind of surgery? If you have you are told of the risk having this surgery includes. but you still regaurdless of those risk’s decide to have the surgery.. and in many many many cases a life has been saved because great surgeons like Dr Sekela spend day after day night after night week after week year after year working what seems to be endless hours at the hospital just to save your life or the life of someone you love very much. everything is ok and all is well when these people walk out in better condition than when they came in and then these doctors and surgeons are the best thing that ever happened to them. i agree that this amount awarded is way to much.. Dr Sekela is a great surgeon i know this because he has performed heart surgery on many of my friends the exact same surgery that ms. satterwhite had and again it all comes back to the “Risks” involved. read up on it and before you judge this great person see what the risks are and tell us then that this great surgeon is at fault. but remember when and if your heart stops beating and your family has to make the choice to either have a surgeon perform this surgery or let you die because the risks of having a stroke ,bleeding to death or being in a wheelchair isnt in your plans have them read the consent to treat and surgical consent carefully and mabe in the mean time you may become stable enough so that the surgeon can ask you first do you want to die or do you want me to do the surgery and save your life although theres a possibilty that you may end up in a wheelchair. hmmmm hold on lets ask your children,grandchildren and friends what they would prefer you to do…… Dr Sekela is a Great surgeon and if it were me id just be thankful im alive even if it means never walking atleast im alive to be with my family.. and by the way just because she is in a wheelchair doesnt mean she can never work again… there are alot of people that have artificial limbs that run marathons so please get over it lady this man saved your life be thankful… thats whats wrong with this world to many money hungry people wanting an easy way out instead of working hard like Dr.Sekela has… heres to you Dr Sekela ” The Great Surgeon”
I was in the Jury Pool and was not selected because I am pro tort reform and I’m certainly not an elitist. I definitely felt sympathy for her condition, as she sat in the court room during the selection process in her wheel chair. However, I haven’t seen anyone comment on Ms. Satterwhite’s preexisting conditions: born w/ congenital heart abnormality, had high blood pressure, had high cholesterol, was over weight and was a smoker. All of those conditions made her “at risk” before she ever entered the OR. I felt like this was a “no win” situation for everyone … except the attorneys. My thoughts and prayers go to both sides.
I am a doctor. Foremost, I feel very badly for the patient. We docs go into medicine to help people and no one feels worse when something like this happens than the doctor. That said, people have to understand that a physician can perform a procedure flawlessly and something bad may still happen. Consider something as simple as treating a headache. Give one person some aspirin and the headache goes away quickly. Give it to another and it doesn’t help at all. Give it to a third and the guys dies within five minutes of an anaphylactic allergic reaction. What’s the difference in the 3 cases? Do you think it’s the way the doctor handed the aspirin to the patient or the patients’ own unique chemistry that made the difference? Sometimes doctors just can’t predict how a patient will respond to a certain treatment, which is why discuss the possibilities with patients before every case we do.
If this woman had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoked and was overweight, she was a set-up to have a stroke. What does society want doctors to do when patients like this walk into our office and ask for our help? What’s going to happen more in the future is that doctors will read this story and simply refuse to help anyone that’s higher risk.
I can tell you that doctors cannot buy enough insurance, even if they wanted to, to cover some of these huge awards. The insurance companies simply don’t offer policies that would pay these astronomical amounts. So, what happens to physicians when something like this happens? They lose everything….everything that they spent 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, 3-7 years of residency and 60 hours a week working for.
The malpractice lawyer? They usually get half of the award, so somewhere around $4,500,000 for this one case.
A doctor works his entire career saving hundreds or thousands of lives, “makes one mistake” (but not really), and loses everything. A lawyer hoodwinks a jury one time and spends the rest of his life playing with his Ferraris and yachts. Wonder why lawyers are so opposed to tort reform?
The outcomes of this case do not change my opinion: I still maintain my beliefs that THE ONE you want to see coming around the corner when you (the nurse) are struggling to keep a patient alive is Dr. Sekela.
Let’s not forget the countless patients that are alive today because everyone else said “no” and Dr. Sekela said “I will try.”
It is Dr. Sekela that provides the calm guidance during a code.
It is Dr. Sekela that stays until “all is well” - that works throughout the day and night until the job is done.
Many times Dr. Sekela will sit in the recliner at my patient’s bedside for hours until the wave has passed and the patient is stable.
Dr. Sekela is highly respected by his peers - not because he demanded it, but because he earned the respect.
It is Dr. Sekela that does NOT allow mediocrity.
Dr. Sekela has always based his actions on the right thing for the right reason.
Dr. Sekela doesn’t take a short cut.
Dr. Michael Sekela has cried with children because he couldn’t save their mother.
That is the surgeon I want at my bedside if I ever have heart surgery.
Regardless whether or not you are the best around things can still go wrong. Do you really think that Sekela would get on the stand and testify if he thought he had caused this woman harm? Not any doctor that I know. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do things happen and sometimes it is unexplainable. This woman must have thought Sekela would do a good job or she would have asked for another physician or declined going forth with her procedure. Hands down if I had to choose a CT surgeon today my choice would be Sekela. He cares about his patient not only before retaining them, but also during the procedure, after the procedure, and years down the road. I’m sorry to Dr. Sekela for having to endure these events. I can sympathize with the emotional toll that it must have had on him. Some people are looking for a quick way to get rich. I’m sure that this woman was a hard worker, but no 401K could ever pay her out what Sekela has had to.
First of all, I feel awful for this woman. While I do not know the details of the case, the outcome is obvious. No one would argue that what happened to her is terrible and that her life will never be the same. Tort reform is not so doctors can practice negligently and let the tax payers pick up the tab. It is to prevent frivolous lawsuits that drive all of our costs up. One thing I want to make clear is that over and over again we see that even though a jury of our “peers” makes a large award or a case is settled, that does not necessarily mean that anything was done wrong or out of line with the standard of care. A lot of times a poor outcome leaves the jury feeling that the patient deserves something, even if there was no medical malpractice. I’m not saying that those involved in this particular case did nothing wrong, but it is a reality that many doctors, who know they didn’t do anything wrong, will settle cases because of the legal expenses and the time it takes away from their practice to defend a lawsuit. Also, we in the medical profession realize that a jury is not made up of OUR peers and is easily swayed by the flashy plaintiff’s attorneys who will convince them that the physician is somehow at fault. The reality is that medicine is a field with still evolving knowledge and with risks. People having heart surgery are routinely counseled about the risks of heart attack, death, stroke, paralysis, etc. These risks are real and may be as high as 5%. If you are one of the 1 in 20 it happens to, it’s unfortunate but not necessarily malpractice. If I told you there was a 1 in 10,000 chance you could be hit by a car when you crossed the street and you agreed to take that risk, would you sue me after you got hit? Imagine all your schooling and years of hard work and debt to become a doctor and then establish a practice, start a family, pay back loans, and save for retirement being taken away by one lawsuit without merit.
To all of you that have any doubts about Dr. Sekela’s credentials ,He is one of the most talented cardio-thoracic surgeons I ever had the privelage to work with. Dr. Sekela was one of the rare breeds that asked that you call him directly at home any time of the night if there were a problem and if not the most, one of the most highly respected in our area. He has about 25-30 years experience under his belt.
I have been a cardio-thoracic nurse for 16 years now and I chose Dr.Sekela out of a number of C.T. Surgeons and it proved to be the right decision, despite complications, having nothing to do with his surgery.
I am sorry for this unfortunate occurence in O.R., howevever, given circumstances bad things happen to good people, no wonder, there is such a large nursing shortage, everyone has to worry about getting sued.
Please do not disparage Dr. Sekela, as he is one of the finest Doctors I have ever worked with.. Sincerely, Carla, RN.
First of all, my heart goes out to Ms. Satterwhite. I cannot imagine what she has gone through or will go through in the future. I do know firsthand however about Dr. Sekela. He has done two different heart vavle replacements on me and I would not have had it done by anyone else. He was completely thorough and professional. I would still recommend him to anyone in my family and I hope that he doesn’t give up the profession after this. I don’t know the specifics of the case - I just know that I trusted him not once but twice to operate on me and I would do it a third time if necessary. We are ALL human and mistakes are made on a daily basis. It is a fact of life and it is horrible that it happened with Ms. Satterwhite. We should remember that the mistake (or whatever happened) was not intentional or criminal and compassion should go to Dr. Sekela as well as Ms. Satterwhite.
I have had two open heart surgeries both done by Dr. Sekela. I had my Aortic valve replaced in 1998 and again in 2004. In 2007 I had a pacemaker implanted by Dr. Sekela. He is a very competent surgeon and if I had to have a 4′th operation, Dr. Sekela would be my first choice. I trust him completely. I feel in my heart that he is not at fault for what happened in this malpractice case. He is just too precise and his expertise is well known in the community. I highly respect him and I hope he continues to practice.
I don’t know about you but I go to doctors because I don’t know what to do about my health sometimes. They know because they went to school etc. If a doctor tells me I need a procedure done I would probably do it. The doctor knew of her high blood pressure, cholesterol etc. that made this surgery especially risky for her, yet he still recommended it. The surgery itself went well but by his mistake something went wrong. It was his mistake (according to the jury) that made her this way. He knew the proper placement of this tube yet he made a mistake and improperly placed it. He should have to pay.
Momma of 3
To die or not to die? You make that decision