$2.4 Million Verdict for Frenchville Woman After Hospital Crushes Her Arm During Endoscopy

In February 2019, Louise Brown, a 67-year-old woman from Frenchville, went to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center for an endoscopic procedure to address abdominal pain. While she was under anesthesia, her left arm became trapped and was crushed between a table and the base of a piece of equipment in the operating room. Medical staff had failed to properly restrain the arm before the procedure began.

The immediate damage was visible. Brown's arm was left mottled with purple bruises and cuts. Over the following months and years, the harm deepened: her arm atrophied, its skin darkening compared to her uninjured arm. She developed complex regional pain syndrome, a chronic nerve condition marked by severe, burning pain that worsens with even light touch. The condition has no cure.

Brown filed suit against Northern Light EMMC and Stacey Bruckler, the certified registered nurse anesthetist who worked on her case. After a week-long trial in Penobscot County Superior Court, attorney Taylor Asen of Gideon Asen LLC presented the jury with the full picture of Brown's five-year ordeal. The defense, led by attorney Edward Gould, did not dispute that the arm injury occurred at the hospital. Gould acknowledged during closing arguments that "that arm looked pretty bad" and was badly bruised. The hospital's position was that the damages were limited, suggesting around $126,000.

The jury deliberated for roughly two hours. It found Northern Light EMMC liable and cleared Bruckler of liability. During closing arguments, Asen asked the jury the central question of the damages phase: "How do you put a monetary value on those physical and emotional damages?" The jury answered with a $2.4 million award, well above the defense's figure and not far short of the $10 million Brown's team had sought.

No appeal or post-trial reduction has been reported.