January 25, 2008 : Jury Finds Optometrist Not Liable for Eye Complications
A Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania jury found that an optometrist and a laser eye center were not responsible for a patient's claimed complications from LASIK surgery. The plaintiff, a former patent attorney, decided to have surgery on his left eye. After the procedure, he complained of seeing starbursts and halos at night. (This is a common effect from the surgery and typically diminishes over time, and the patient was advised of that risk in a four-page consent form.) The plaintiff, however, claimed that he continued to experience these phenomena years later.
Although the optometrist did not perform the surgery, he and the center were sued because he allegedly mis-measured the plaintiff’s pupil size when dilated. Prior to trial, the plaintiff’s expert admitted that the method for measuring the pupils that was used - with a special pupillometer - was within the standard of care. The plaintiff's new theory at trial was that the light in the room must not have been dim enough to get an accurate measurement. After cross-examination, the expert admitted that there was no standard of care regarding the dimness of the room. The jury deliberated for less than one hour before finding that the optometrist did not breach any standard of care. Pittsburgh-based partner Deborah A. Kane represented the optometrist.
File Under: Results, Medical Professional Liability, Deborah A. Kane