Multimillion-Dollar Verdict Against I-Flow After Pain Pump Destroyed Portland Man's Shoulder Cartilage

In 2004, Matthew Beale underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in Oregon to repair a bicep tear. His surgeon inserted an I-Flow On-Q Pain Buster infusion pump into the shoulder joint to deliver local anesthetic continuously for roughly two and a half days after the procedure. The device was marketed to surgeons as a convenient way to manage post-operative pain, but I-Flow had not obtained FDA approval for intra-articular use following shoulder arthroscopy.

Within months of the procedure, Beale noticed clicking sounds and worsening pain in the shoulder. Medical evaluation revealed that the cartilage lining his shoulder joint had eroded away. The diagnosis was chondrolysis, a condition in which articular cartilage breaks down progressively, leaving bone rubbing against bone. The injury caused Beale intense, chronic pain and severely limited the motion of his arm. His doctors anticipated that he would need at least one shoulder-replacement surgery and that the condition would force him into early retirement.

Beale and his wife Krista filed suit against I-Flow Corporation, which by the time of trial was owned by Kimberly-Clark Corp. John Coletti of Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys in Portland took the case to trial in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Over three weeks of testimony, Coletti argued that I-Flow knew the On-Q pump was being used inside shoulder joints even though the application was unapproved, that the company actively encouraged surgeons to use the device in that manner, and that I-Flow had never conducted the testing necessary to establish safety for intra-articular infusion.

The jury found I-Flow liable for the destruction of Beale's cartilage and rejected the company's defense. In late January 2010, it returned a multimillion-dollar verdict for the Beales; news outlets reported the award to Matthew and Krista Beale at roughly $4.75 million, while verdict reporters and other sources tracking the case put the total closer to $5.5 million. Either way, the award included a substantial sum, reported at about $1.275 million, for Krista Beale's loss of consortium.

The outcome was closely followed by attorneys handling similar shoulder pain-pump cases across the country, as it was among the first such claims to reach a jury verdict against a pain-pump manufacturer. Dozens of additional lawsuits against I-Flow and competing device makers were pending at the time of trial.