Date of Verdict:

May 24.

Court and Case No.:

C.P. Allegheny No. GD 14-012022.

Judge:

Terrence W. O'Brien.

Type of Action:

Medical malpractice.

Injuries:

Internal injuries.

Plaintiffs Counsel:

Brendan Lupetin and Greg Unatin, Meyers Evans Lupetin & Unatin, Pittsburgh.

Defense Counsel:

Alan Baum, Mattis Baum O'Connor, Pittsburgh.

Comment:

A Pittsburgh jury has awarded $2 million to a woman claiming she suffered ongoing internal injuries resulting from a botched gallbladder removal surgery.

After a three-day trial and an hour of deliberation, the Allegheny County jury found surgeon Dr. Charles N. Lebovitz was negligent in operating on Denise Westwood. The verdict broke down into $750,000 for past noneconomic loss and $1.25 million for future noneconomic loss.

Westwood was represented by Brendan Lupetin and Greg Unatin of Meyers Evans Lupetin & Unatin in Pittsburgh.

"This case involved a doctor who skipped an important step during a gallbladder surgery, which caused him to cut the wrong body part," Lupetin said. "This was a devastating injury for our client Denise, the repercussions and related complications of which she continues to deal with to this day. Instead of owning up to the fact that he cut corners and was at fault for the injury, the defendant doctor refused to accept any responsibility for what happened."

Westwood's bile duct was injured during surgery, according to her pretrial memorandum, which caused permanent damage to her liver and biliary system because, she claimed, Lebovitz did not perform the removal in the safest way possible.

Alan Baum of Mattis Baum O'Connor in Pittsburgh represented Lebovitz and declined to comment.

As a result of the surgery, bile leaked and accumulated inside of Westwood, requiring further medical treatment and potentially more corrective surgeries in the future. She also sustained multiple hernias, according to court documents.

"The potential, long-term consequences of the injury Dr. Lebovitz caused by his haste to remove Ms. Westwood's gallbladder on May 23, 2013, are significant," Westwood's court papers said. "But, for Ms. Westwood, the countless doctor's visits, blood tests, radiology studies, invasive procedures, and two major surgeries she endured prompt painful memories and ongoing concern for the future."

Ultimately, Westwood's condition caused her to leave her job as a nurse's aid.

"Denise Westwood continued to work throughout 2014 and 2015 despite her physical limitations," court papers said. "Unfortunately, Ms. Westwood was recently disabled from employment as a result of October 2015 surgery to repair her hernias. Currently Ms. Westwood is restricted from lifting more than 10 pounds."