Woman Receives $425,000 After Orthopedic Surgeon Used Wrong Implant

On August 18, 2014, Jeanette Darden consulted with Dr. Theodore Lyons because of an incessant pain she felt in her right knee that she had been experiencing over the past year. [i] Dr. Lyons noted that Jeanette had a complicated medical history, including a leg length discrepancy and numerous previous surgical procedures. Dr. Lyons’ own medical examination revealed that because of Jeanette’s complicated medical history, she would require a special type of surgery.
On October 7, 2014, Dr. Lyons performed a right total knee arthroplasty. Unfortunately, when Dr. Lyons performed the surgery, he was ill prepared. The hardware he was supposed to remove from previous surgeries could not be removed because he had not appropriately prepared to do so. As the months progressed, Jeanette continued to have significant discomfort, weakness and pain – even worse than what she had previously experienced. Eventually, Jeanette sought the medical care and treatment of other doctors who confirmed that Dr. Lyons techniques were less than appropriate and his decision to use an inappropriate implant contributed to Jeanette’s pain and discomfort.
With nowhere else to go, Jeannette spoke with a friend who is an attorney almost two years after her initial surgery. That attorney referred Jeanette to David Sampedro at Panter, Panter & Sampedro. David had the medical records reviewed by another independent orthopedic surgeon who determined that Dr. Lyons had not prepared Jeanette appropriately for her surgery and had used the wrong implant when operating on Jeanette. David sent Dr. Lyons and his practice, a notice of intent. A notice of intent is a formal notification required by statute advising a patient’s intent to file suit against the doctor. Upon receipt of the notice of intent, Dr. Lyons contacted an attorney who shortly thereafter admitted responsibility and requested a pre-suit mediation. Within several months, the matter was resolved for a total of $425,000. The money will be used by Jeanette to help pay for her future surgery and for the time she will be required to miss work from Dr. Lyons’ mistake.
[i] The names of all parties have been changed to protect their confidentiality.