A medical malpractice trial is underway in Logan involving bisection of the common bile duct during a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The case is Catherine Burton v. Dr. Mark T. Hansen, Civil #140100338, First Judicial District Court for Cache (Judge Brian Cannell).
Utah medical malpractice attorneys: Plaintiffs counsel is Brad Bearnson and Brenda Weinberg of Bearson & Caldwell in Logan. Representing the defense are Shawn McGarry and Gary Wight of Kipp & Christian in Salt Lake City. The defendant’s insurer is UMIA.
The plaintiff claims that Dr. Hansen, a general surgeon, negligently performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy during which he divided her common bile duct in two separate places. (The goal is to remove the gallbladder and tie off the cystic duct, not the common bile duct.) That led to a repair surgery, months of unnecessary pain and suffering, a large scar on her abdomen, and medical expenses of approximately $90,000. The defense is that this was an unfortunate but known risk of the procedure, and that Ms. Burton’s surgery was especially difficult due to unusual anatomy and significant inflammation.
The case will center around the issue of proper definition by the defendant of the surgical landmarks. Plaintiff has retained Dr. Shawn Tsuda (General surgery- Las Vegas) as her expert, and Dr. Burton has Dr. Robert Naylor (general surgery- Salt Lake City).
It’s expected that this trial will take a week.
