Man Disabled After Botched Ligament Reconstruction, Suit Claims
3-1-2019 13:20:00


SEATTLE (CN) – A Kaiser surgeon bungled an elbow ligament repair, and left the patient with permanent disability, according to a lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court.


Matthew H. Gorman sued Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington, formerly known as Group Health Cooperative, Matthew L. Lyons, M.D., and “Jane Doe Lyons,” his wife, for medical negligence.

Gorman says he had a “surgical revision right elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction” procedure performed by defendant surgeon Lyons at defendant Kaiser’s medical facility in Bellevue in November 2015, according to the action.

According to the National Institute of Health, this is a common surgery, often performed on pitchers and other athletes who have damaged the elbow ligaments through “chronic accumulation of microtrauma” or due to acute ruptures. The procedure involves grafting healthy ligament tissue from elsewhere in the body to the site of the damaged ligament. The procedure is considered a “reliable treatment option,” and complications are considered to be “rare.”

When Gorman awoke from the surgery, he says he noticed “dense numbness in the right arm and fingers in the right hand, inability to control the erratic movement of multiple fingers on this right hand, clawing of the right hand, and extreme post-operative swelling accompanied by exquisite pain unlike any of his previous surgeries,” the suit states.

Gorman says his “ongoing and continuous course of negligent treatment" with Lyons continued through March 4, 2016. Due to Lyons’ negligence and inadequate care, Gorman says he has severe and permanent injuries, disability, permanent disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of earnings and earning capacity, and mental and physical pain and suffering, the suit alleges.

Gorman seeks economic and non-economic damages, expenses and interest. He also requests a judgment against defendants for all injuries and damages and an award of legal costs and fees.

The Gorman is represented by David L. Mann of Park Chenour & Associates, Inc., P.S. in Federal Way, Washington.
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