Robot-Assisted Prostate Surgery Case

Answer: A Florida jury awarded more than $2.4 million to a man who was injured during a robot-assisted prostate surgery. The jury concluded that the physician was responsible for the rectal tear and subsequent complications suffered by the patient during a simple prostatectomy.

The Legal Case

The trial took 8 days and focused on whether the doctor had acted appropriately during surgery.

The plaintiff alleged that the physician did not properly repair the tear, leading to a rectourethral fistula, requiring surgery, a temporary ileostomy, and many genitourinary complications. The plaintiff alleged that the physician was rushed on the day of surgery and did not have the requisite experience to repair the rectal tear. Despite this, he did not seek assistance and attempted to repair the tear himself.

The defense argued that a rectal tear can occur even when robotic surgery is properly performed. “Complications like this can only be avoided if you stop doing necessary and helpful surgery,” said the defense attorney during his closing argument. “We need to recognize that, without fault, some patients will have complications,” he continued, arguing that, although the patient had suffered a complication, it was not due to the doctor’s failure to use reasonable care.

The Decision

The jury did not accept this argument, however, likely because none of the experts who testified in the case had seen or heard of a rectal injury occurring in a robotic simple prostatectomy. Even the defense’s expert urologist testified that he had never faced such a complication when performing the procedure—a statement that probably went a long way with the jury. The defense had made no settlement offers prior to trial. The verdict included $2.06 million to the patient and $380,000 to his wife for loss of consortium.