Fw: Plastic surgeon found liable in death

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> http://www.insidevc.com/news/333207.shtml

>

> Plastic surgeon found liable in death

>

> Jury awards family of Simi woman $2 million for negligence leading to

> 25-year-old's death

>

> By Brad

> Ventura County Star writer

> Saturday August 19, 2000

>

> A jury Friday found a Westlake Village plastic surgeon liable for a Simi

> Valley woman's death, more than two years after she slipped into a coma at

> his office following cosmetic surgery.

>

> The civil court jury found that negligence by Dr. Theodore Ross Corwin and

> his staff led to the death of Tania Pfefferman, a 25-year-old wife and

> mother who died in February 1998 after undergoing surgery at Corwin's

> Westlake Village practice.

>

> The verdict in the wrongful-death case came in Simi Valley Superior Court,

> after three weeks of deliberations. The seven-man, five-woman jury awarded

> Pfefferman's husband, , and 3-year-old daughter Brett more than $2

> million in damages, although legal limits on non-economic damages will

> reduce that to approximately $750,000.

>

> Pfefferman and his wife's parents, Hal and Diane Wyatt, were among

> those in court when the verdicts were read. Corwin was out of state

> because of a family emergency, friends said.

>

> After the verdicts, the Pfefferman family did not comment. Attorney

> Frederick Bysshe said the family members were very pleased with the

> verdict.

>

> " The money was not important in this case; the defendants never

> acknowledged their responsibility in this case -- that is what this case

> was all about, " Bysshe said.

>

> " What they hope this verdict will say to the public is plastic surgery has

> some significant risks, " he said. " The assurances that Tania got from Dr.

> Corwin and his staff as to the risk was that it was insignificant, and

> that it was almost as safe as a trip to the beauty parlor. "

>

> Along with a general finding of negligence by Corwin and his practice, the

> jury unanimously found that the negligence caused Pfefferman's death.

>

> They also found that she was not responsible.

>

> Among some 22 different questions the jurors had to consider, they also

> found that Corwin's practice, Plastic Surgery Partnership, or PSP, was

> negligent in supervising Pfefferman's recovery after surgery. PSP was also

> negligent in training its personnel for a post-operative emergency.

>

> Pfefferman died Feb. 28, 1998, two weeks after she had lapsed into a coma

> following breast augmentation surgery and liposuction at Corwin's office.

> Corwin has denied any wrongdoing.

>

> Corwin's attorney, Jon Monroy, said the jurors' decision was incorrect.

>

> " We disagree with the jury's findings, " Monroy said. " Dr. Corwin has been

> in business for 25 years, without any complaints. "

>

> Monroy said the California Medical Board has cleared Corwin of any

> wrongdoing. State officials contacted late Friday could not confirm

> whether the matter had been resolved.

>

> The board does not have any record of discipline against Corwin. The

> Ventura County District Attorney's Office determined in April 1998 there

> was no criminal conduct in the matter.

>

> The trial began May 2, the same day a settlement was reached between the

> Pfeffermans, who live in Westlake Village, and Lorie Salamati, a

> nurse-anesthetist who assisted Corwin.

>

> No details of that settlement were announced, but Salamati was one of two

> nurses who attended Pfefferman during the recovery phase.

>

> During the trial, Bysshe contended that both nurses were either out of the

> recovery room or not paying attention to Pfefferman for a period of five

> to 10 minutes. In that time, he said, Pfefferman's heart and respiratory

> rates dropped dramatically.

>

> After the verdicts were announced, Bysshe, Monroy and Judge Kent Kellegrew

> all thanked the jurors, who heard from 30 witnesses and examined some 200

> exhibits in the highly technical case.

>

> Jury foreman Glenn Rowe said the jurors had carefully considered all the

> evidence, but would not comment in detail on the deliberations.

>

> " I think our verdict really said it, " he said. " The verdict really speaks

> for itself. "

>

> -- Brad 's e-mail address is bsmith@....

>

>