On March 3, 2003, plaintiff’s decedent Gus Caroppoli, 76, underwent a tracheostomy. The bedside procedure was performed by otolaryngologist Dr. Saul Modlin, at Winthrop-University Hospital, in Mineola. The procedure followed a hospitalization that lasted 34 days. During that time, Caroppoli suffered myocardial infarctions, respiratory distress and acute tubular necrosis–cellular death that stems from a lack of oxygen. The conditions necessitated Caroppoli’s use of a ventilator, and Modlin determined that they also necessitated performance of the tracheostomy.
About 17 hours after the procedure was performed, Caroppoli suffered a fatal hemorrhage of the site of the tracheostomy. His widow, Paula Caroppoli, claimed that the hemorrhage stemmed from improper performance of the tracheostomy.
Ms. Caroppoli, acting as executrix of her husband’s estate, sued Modlin; the hospital’s operator, Winthrop-University Hospital Association; her husband’s other treating physicians, Drs. Adam Hurewitz, Richard Schwartz, Jeffrey Snow, Peter Spiegler and Terrence Trow; and their practice group, Winthrop Pulmonary Associates PC. The estate alleged that Modlin failed to properly perform the tracheostomy, that the remaining doctors failed to adequately treat Caroppoli’s postoperative condition, that the failures constituted medical malpractice, that Winthrop-University Hospital Association was vicariously liable for the doctors’ actions, and that Winthrop Pulmonary Associates was vicariously liable for the actions of Hurewitz, Schwartz, Snow, Spiegler and Trow.
The estate and Winthrop-University Hospital Association negotiated a pretrial settlement. Terms were not disclosed. The estate’s counsel also discontinued the claims against Hurewitz, Schwartz, Snow, Spiegler, Trow and Winthrop Pulmonary Associates. Thus, the matter proceeded to a trial against Modlin.
The estate’s counsel noted that a medical examiner determined that Mr. Caroppoli sustained a 0.25-inch-long perforation of the isthmus, which is the lower portion of the thyroid gland. The estate’s counsel claimed that the injury occurred during the tracheostomy.
The estate’s counsel also claimed that the tracheostomy was not indicated or medically justified. He further claimed that the procedure should have been performed in an operating room.
The estate’s expert vascular surgeon opined that Modlin committed six or more errors that constituted departures from accepted standards of care. He noted that the tracheostomy was created via a 1-centimeter-long incision, but he opined that the incision did not adequately expose the trachea. He also opined that Modlin should have administered a preoperative transfusion of platelets. He contended that the platelets would have prevented the postoperative hemorrhage.
Defense counsel contended that Caroppoli’s isthmus was perforated by a surgical resident who was addressing the postoperative hemorrhage. He claimed that the resident was attempting to isolate and stop the hemorrhage and that, as such, he enlarged the surgical incision.
Modlin and his expert otolaryngologist contended that Caroppoli’s postoperative bleeding began when the tracheostomy tube was dislodged during a nurse’s attempt to bathe Caroppoli. They also contended that doctors repeatedly attempted to stop the hemorrhage and establish an airway. They opined that the isthmus was perforated during those attempts.
Caroppoli suffered a fatal hemorrhage of the site of his tracheostomy. He died March 4, 2003, at age 76. He was survived by his wife, three adult daughters and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Caroppoli’s widow claimed that her husband’s death resulted in the reduction of the pension and Social Security benefits that she was receiving.
Mr. Caroppoli’s estate sought recovery of wrongful-death damages that included economic damages and damages for Caroppoli’s conscious pain and suffering.
The jury rendered a defense verdict. It found that Modlin did not depart from accepted standards of medical care.