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Madison vs. Waynesville
Flesh-eating bacteria missed, family claims
Civil trial opens; orthopedist accused of misdiagnosing flesh-eating bacteria.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
XENIA — Jurors heard opening arguments and testimony Monday, May 19, in the malpractice civil trial of an orthopedist accused of misdiagnosing a patient infected with flesh-eating bacteria.
Dr. Kerry D. Bennett and his practice, MSA Orthopedics, are being sued by the family of Michelle Eldridge, a Fairborn woman who Bennett saw hours before other doctors diagnosed her with the often fatal bacteria.
Extras
Flesh-eating disease, or necrotizing fasciitis, is a rare deep-tissue bacterial infection that spreads quickly, destroying skin and muscle.
Eldridge's left leg was amputated in July 2001 because of the infection, which caused her health to decline for years afterward. She died in 2007 after her body could no longer handle the medications she was taking, her lawyers said.
Eldridge saw Bennett July 3, 2001, after visiting the emergency room at Greene Memorial Hospital the day before for a twisted ankle. Doctors at the hospital diagnosed her with a less-serious bacterial infection called cellulitis and prescribed antibiotics.
Bennett found no sign of any infection when he examined her. He wrapped Eldridge's ankle in a bandage and sent her home, said John Birath, the orthopedist's attorney.
Eldridge's lawyers contend because of the pain, swelling and blisters Eldridge displayed, Bennett should have sent her to the emergency room. Her mother, Mary Eldridge, took her to Miami Valley Hospital on July 4, and doctors discovered the flesh-eating bacteria.
"Within 24 hours, Michelle was fighting for her life after doctors cut off her leg," said Susan Braiser, attorney for Eldridge's family.
Eldridge was hospitalized for months with a "mangled leg" Braiser described in her opening statement as: "So horrible most of us haven't seen anything like it; even in horror films."
Birath told the jury of seven men and three women that Eldridge showed no signs of the infection when she visited Bennett's office. "He did not violate any standard of care. He is not guilty of malpractice," Birath said.
Eldridge's family also filed suit against Greene Memorial Hospital, but later dropped the case.
The trial in Judge Stephen A. Wolaver's Common Pleas Court is expected to last three weeks. The family is asking for damages in excess of $25,000.
Contact the reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@DaytonDailyNews.com
