Jury Awards $15.1 Million to Groton Woman Blinded During Surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital

Yale neurosurgeon allowed toxic antiseptic solution to enter patient’s only seeing eye
while undergoing brain surgery, causing permanent damage and leaving her blind

NEW HAVEN, CT – A New Haven jury today found Yale New Haven Hospital negligent and awarded $15.1 million to Lioudmila Pyleva, an 85-year-old Groton woman rendered blind when toxic antiseptic solution was allowed to drip into and stay in her only seeing eye while she was unconscious during brain surgery.

Pyleva, then 78, underwent surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital on April 2, 2019, to treat a noncancerous brain tumor. The case alleged, and the jury found, that neurosurgeon Dr. Jennifer Moliterno negligently handled toxic antiseptic chemicals, causing Pyleva’s loss of vision in her right eye.

The chemicals in question were Hibiclens and Chloraprep, two chlorhexidine-based solutions used to sterilize incision sites. The medical community has known since the 1980s that these solutions are toxic to the eyes, can cause irreversible damage, and therefore must be used with meticulous care to prevent them from entering the eye.

When Pyleva awoke from surgery, she immediately reported a burning sensation in her right eye, and an examination later that day found that nearly 90 percent of the corneal surface had been destroyed. This ultimately led to the obliteration of vision in her right eye. Because Pyleva had lacked useful sight in her left eye since childhood, she was rendered completely functionally blind.

Born in Russia in 1941, Pyleva built a career in various fields and raised two children as a single mother in Siberia. In 2018, she moved permanently to the United States to be closer to her family. The plaintiff argued that the injury robbed her of the independence she cherished and the ability to enjoy her remaining years.

The case was brought on Ms. Pyleva’s behalf by the Bridgeport law firm of Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC.

“My mother is my hero, and the strongest person I have ever known,” said Evgenia Neff, Lioudmila Pyleva’s daughter and conservator. “This verdict is a vindication not only of what my mother has lost, but the full value of her amazing life. I am grateful to her lawyers and the jury for seeing my mother as a full human being. I hope this verdict means no one else will ever go through what my mom did.”

“Lioudmila Pyleva is a fiercely independent woman who overcame so much to build a good and meaningful life for her family and herself,” said the family’s attorney, Matt Blumenthal, of the Bridgeport law firm Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC. “She deserved to enjoy her hard-earned golden years seeing her family flourish. Instead of recognizing their wrongdoing and attempting to make it right, Yale spent more than five years denying it ever happened, dismissing Lioudmila, and forcing her to go to court and prove to a jury what was obvious from the beginning.”

“It wasn’t just that Yale and Dr. Moliterno denied the obvious truth that chlorhexidine had likely gotten into Ms. Pyleva’s eye,” said Attorney Josh Koskoff, who tried the case alongside Blumenthal. “Yale also rejected and challenged the observations of its own Yale-New Haven Hospital providers who treated Ms. Pyleva following the surgery. Yale should be better than that, and we are grateful that the jury rejected this defense.”

Lioudmila Pyleva was represented by Attorneys Matt Blumenthal and Josh Koskoff of Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC. The firm has a record of plaintiff verdicts in medical malpractice and other cases of catastrophic harm due to negligence and misconduct.

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About Koskoff Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC
Founded in 1936 and based in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC is a nationally recognized law firm that has achieved landmark verdicts and settlements in cases involving defamation, medical malpractice, civil rights violations, dangerous products, governmental negligence, and catastrophic personal injury. The firm is committed to fighting for justice on behalf of individuals and families harmed by preventable wrongdoing. Learn more at www.koskoff.com.