Ethicon stapler malfunction leads to a $10.3 million verdict

After more than four years of struggle, one woman’s search for justice is over, thanks to the efforts of Attorney Marc G. Pera, of Crandall & Pera Law, LLC. The Miami County Court of Common Pleas awarded Nikki Simon, a mother of two who was permanently injured after a surgical accident, $10.3 million in her lawsuit against a medical device manufacturer.

A cyst removal leads to lifelong hardship

Ms. Simon entered the surgical theater to remove a benign cyst on her colon. Due to a malfunction with an Ethicon surgical stapler, her surgeon removed her sigmoid and transverse colon to save her life. Without these vital sections of her digestive system, she must rely on a colostomy bag for the rest of her life.

What is an Ethicon stapler, and how did it malfunction?

The Ethicon stapler is a specialized surgical tool that makes an incision while placing staples in vital areas to keep them from rupturing during surgery. The two actions are simultaneous, minimizing the opportunity for further damage. In Ms. Simon’s case, the stapling action didn’t occur.

An unnecessary blame game

For years while we pursued the parties responsible, Ethicon repeatedly blamed the surgeon for the accident. They offered many theories to deflect blame from their device onto the person using it. Again and again, they refused to accept the responsibility for the accident.

Ethicon’s continued insistence delayed compensation to Ms. Simon, forcing her to spend much of the last four years waiting. In that time, she had to raise her four children and make ends meet, all while restricted by the demands of her condition, which require her to empty her colostomy bag every 3 hours.

That ended this week.

The necessity of strong representation

The verdict is a rebuke of Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc’s attempt to negate and circumvent their responsibility. Our firm’s success for Ms. Simon is another example of the lengths we go to for the clients we represent.