$5.5 Million Verdict After Pacing Wire Removal Kills Bypass Patient

Velda Richardson, 53, went to Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park on February 1, 2011, for open-heart coronary bypass surgery to treat multiple blocked arteries. The operation proceeded as planned. Before closing, Dr. Sanjiv Lakhanpal placed temporary cardiac pacing wires on her heart, a standard precaution after bypass surgery.

Five days later, a nurse began removing the pacing wires from Richardson's chest. Within minutes, Richardson hemorrhaged severely. She told those around her, 'I think I am dying.' She was right. One or more of the pacing wires had torn the newly placed vein graft as they were pulled free, severing the blood supply to her heart. Richardson died of blood loss before anything could be done to save her.

Her daughter, Kimberly Davis, filed suit against Dr. Lakhanpal and the Center for Vein Restoration (MD) LLC, alleging that the wires had been positioned too close to the graft. Under attorney Rodney Gaston of Miller and Zois, the plaintiff presented evidence showing the surgical team could not say who placed the wires, how many wires were used, or exactly where they were seated on Richardson's heart. The defendant surgeon himself could not recall these details.

That absence of documentation became a centerpiece of the trial. Gaston argued that a surgeon who places wires near a freshly constructed graft and then keeps no record of their position leaves the patient exposed to exactly the kind of catastrophic injury Richardson suffered.

After a four-day trial before Judge Maureen M. Lamasney, a jury returned a unanimous verdict on September 6, 2013: $2 million to Richardson's estate on the survival claim and $3.5 million to Davis on the wrongful death claim, totaling $5,505,000. Maryland's cap on non-economic damages reduced the judgment to approximately $695,000 plus $5,000 in funeral expenses.