A Bellingham, WA, neurosurgeon being sued for medical malpractice testified that modern medicine hasn't progressed enough to prevent the brain damage his patient suffered at St. Joseph Hospital in October 2004. Dr. David Goldman took the witness stand Thursday, Oct. 1, and told a Whatcom County Superior Court jury he did everything possible to prevent the damage Carol Martin suffered Oct. 7, 2004, following neck surgery. The Martins' attorneys, Christopher Otorowski and Thomas Golden, called orthopedic surgery expert witness Dr. Mark Palumbo to the stand last week to criticize Goldman's care of Martin and say it was below the standard of care.
Goldman performed surgery on Martin, but a blood clot formed in her neck afterward, a rare but known complication. That restricted her breathing, caused swelling and eventually led to severe, permanent brain damage. "This was a very bad outcome, and we all felt terrible about this tragedy," Goldman testified. "There is nothing I think I could do. This is the limit of what modern medicine can do. That's very hard to accept and live with, but that's my job."
Excerpted from thenewstribune.com.
