Macomb County Jury Awards Nearly $10 Million for Surgical-Wound-Infection Death

The Background

Cathleen Allen, 41 years old, presented at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital to undergo outpatient abdominal surgery performed by Dr. Dixit. Following the surgery, Ms. Allen returned for a follow-up appointment. A few days after the follow-up appointment, she complained of being ill and went to the emergency department at the hospital. While in the emergency department, she discovered she was septic from an infection.

The next day, Dr. Dixit visited Ms. Allen in the hospital, but failed to clean the wound. Six days after Ms. Allen presented at the emergency department, she died.

The Allegations

In November 2019, Ms. Allen’s estate filed suit against the hospital and Dr. Dixit and alleged that the hospital was administratively negligent and Dr. Dixit was professionally negligent. More specifically, the plaintiff argued that there was evidence that the source of Ms. Allen’s infection was the surgical wound, yet Dr. Dixit ignored such evidence during his treatment. Additionally, the plaintiff argued that neither hospital nor Dr. Dixit followed the hospital’s patient safety policy, which resulted in Ms. Allen’s illness from the uncontrolled infection in the wound.

The Trial

The two-week trial was set before Judge James Biernat, Jr., in Macomb Circuit Court in Mount Clemens, Michigan. At trial, the plaintiff’s experts testified that hospital officials failed to implement and enforce proper safety policies. The hospital disagreed and argued that Dr. Dixit was not a hospital employee.

After five hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. The jury awarded nearly $10 million to the estate of Ms. Allen. The jury concluded that the hospital’s and Dr. Dixit’s negligence resulted in Ms. Allen’s death.

The hospital disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal.