Patient lost vision in eye two months after surgery — $2M verdict

Type of action: Medical malpractice

Injuries alleged: Plaintiff became irreversibly blind in right eye two months after cataract surgery

Name of case: Livesay v. Brock

Court: Essex Circuit Court

Case no.: 21-0000180-00

Tried before: Jury

Name of judge or mediator: Judge Herbert M. Hewitt

Date resolved: 3/22/2023

Verdict or settlement: Verdict

Amount: $2,000,000

Attorney for plaintiff: Suzette L. Hutchens, Richmond

Description of case: Plaintiff had cataract surgery on Sept. 25, 2017. Although Brock had been doing cataract surgery for 40 years, he said that to keep up with the times he was learning a new technique. There was a dispute over whether he had mastered that technique. Brock removed two sutures at an office visit on Nov. 14, 2017. Within two weeks of that, Livesay developed a serious eye infection which led to his loss of vision.

Plaintiff’s expert testified that the defendant had breached the standard of care in the preoperative period, during the surgery and in the postoperative period and that those breaches led to the loss of vision.

Defendant’s experts testified that there were no breaches of the standard of care and that sometimes bad results happen that are no one’s fault.

The jury deliberated for more than three hours and returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $2 million.

Suzanne Hutchens, counsel for the plaintiff, provided case information.

[023-T-039]

Medical Malpractice