Surgeon to Appeal $1.75 Malpractice Verdict

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Dr. Eric Leefmans is expected to appeal a $1.75 million verdict awarded to a patient of the surgeon who sued for medical malpractice during treatment following a 2003 automobile accident.

Attorney Emily Rice of Boston said her client, Dr. Eric Leefmans, plans to appeal a $1.75 million-plus-interest medical malpractice verdict issued by a New Hampshire Court last week. The plaintiff was 42-year-old Randolph Hinz who was operated on by Leefmans and the trauma team at a Concord hospital in 2003 following a car accident.
The jury found Leefmans 100 percent responsible for blindness Hinz alleged is a result of doctor error. The lawsuit claimed stating that the doctors treated the fractures in his leg before stabilizing his condition by giving him blood. Hinz's attorney, Suzanne McDonough of Boston, said Hinz's leg surgery could have waited until after his more serious blood loss was treated. The lawsuit alleged that blood loss resulted in blindness. The other two doctors named in the lawsuit were not found to be at fault.

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Attorney Emily Rice of Boston said her client, Dr. Eric Leefmans, plans to appeal a $1.75 million-plus-interest medical malpractice verdict issued by a New Hampshire Court last week. The plaintiff was 42-year-old Randolph Hinz who was operated on by Leefmans and the trauma team at a Concord hospital in 2003 following a car accident.
The jury found Leefmans 100 percent responsible for blindness Hinz alleged is a result of doctor error. The lawsuit claimed stating that the doctors treated the fractures in his leg before stabilizing his condition by giving him blood. Hinz's attorney, Suzanne McDonough of Boston, said Hinz's leg surgery could have waited until after his more serious blood loss was treated. The lawsuit alleged that blood loss resulted in blindness. The other two doctors named in the lawsuit were not found to be at fault.
Dr. Leefmans' supervisors continue to support him throughout the trial and appeals process. Rice and fellow attorney David Gould issued a statement following the verdict, saying:
"Our clients provided excellent care to the plaintiff after his motor vehicle accident, and we are therefore disappointed at the jury's verdict against the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic and Dr. Leefmans." The statement made reference to the testimony of one of the hospital's witnesses, a neuro-ophthalmology expert from Johns Hopkins, who stated that Hinz's injury was not caused by Leefmans's medical care.
Read the Concord Monitor Article on the case.
If you suspect that you or someone you know has been the victim of medical malpractice, contact a medical malpractice attorney today.