Bennie Moore underwent surgery to address weight issues at Coliseum Health System Northside Hospital in Macon on Nov. 14, 2017. During the procedure, Ms. Moore was allegedly given too much anesthetic by an anesthesiologist’s assistant, which caused her to stop breathing and lose her pulse.
She was later diagnosed with a brain injury and cardiac arrest, and she died in hospice care. The jury determined that while fault was 82.5% on the anesthesiologist’s assistant, it was also 17.5% the fault of Ms. Moore’s primary anesthesiologist.
The jury awarded the family of Ms. Moore $775,000 in medical bills, $2.5 million for pain and suffering and $10.5 million for wrongful death.
According to the lawsuit, her anesthesiologist, David McKinney, MD, did not take precautions or make special considerations in the case, even though Ms. Moore was morbidly obese and had other underlying health conditions.
He also allegedly did not inform his assistant, Ginny Trogdon, that Ms. Moore had health issues. Dr. McKinney was also supervising more than one operating room procedure at the time.
Ms. Moore stopped breathing after being administered anesthetic, and Ms. Trogdon allegedly was not aware until she was alerted by another surgeon.
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