She fell off the operating table: Woman sues Yale-New Haven Hospital for malpractice

BRIDGEPORT, May 22, 2012 – The surgery went fine, but the result was not.

Florence Fiedler, now 81, of New Canaan, thought she was going to Yale-New Haven Hospital for what has become a fairly routine procedure – implantation of a pacemaker. As expected, the surgery went fine.

However, while still sedated she fell from the operating table to the floor, crashing with such force that she suffered from traumatic brain injury, a broken collar bone, broken hip and broken toe. Hitting her head caused bleeding around the lining of her brain. She also damaged her back.

Atty. James Horwitz, the lawyer from Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder representing Mrs. Fiedler, said, “Despite months of therapy, Mrs. Fieder now must face daily pain for the rest of her life. She had to relearn how to walk and was transformed from an independent spry energetic woman enjoying her golden years to someone dependent on others and is now a shut-in.”

Fiedler, a retired administrator from the FBI, sued Yale-New Haven Hospital today along with the treating physician, Dr. Joseph Akar.

The surgery and subsequent fall from the procedure table occurred on Feb. 17, 2010.

The lawsuit says that Dr. Akar “failed to recognize that Florence Fiedler was not completely recovered from the medications she received during the pacemaker implantation” which put her at risk of falling.

The lawsuit says that Yale-New Haven Hospital “failed to implement policies and procedure that would keep” a patient safe from falling and “failed to provide constant observation” while she was on the operating room table.

Atty. Horwitz said, “This is a case where Yale is absolutely 100 percent culpable. For months we have tried to resolve this with Yale and the hospital has ignored her. Their indifference is shocking.”

As a result of the incident, Mrs. Fiedler was forced to move in with one of her children.

Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, is a nationally known law firm that has achieved record verdicts for people who suffer serious personal injuries or economic harm from medical malpractice, violation of their civil or constitutional rights, dangerous products, negligence, drunk drivers, corporate or governmental abuse and commercial misconduct.