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Man Whose Heart Was Burned During Surgery Awarded $40 Million

A Washington jury has returned a $40.1 million verdict against a medical device maker in favor of a man who said his heart was so badly burned by a malfunctioning monitoring device used during his bypass operation that he required a heart transplant.

Plaintiff Paramjit Singh's award includes $8.35 million in punitive damages.

Singh sued California-based Edwards Lifesciences Corp. in 2005 in the Snohomish County Superior Court. He alleged the interior of his heart was burned during a 2004 triple bypass operation at Providence Health System-Washington when a Vigilance cardiac output monitor made by Edwards malfunctioned and overheated a catheter attached to his heart.

The monitors are used to track blood flow and oxygen levels during surgery.

Singh sought damages for medical problems he experienced during and after the surgery.

Although the triple bypass was successful, the surgeon could not remove the catheter that linked the monitor to his pulmonary artery, according to the suit.

When the doctor finally removed the catheter during a separate surgery by cutting it into pieces, he said it "had carbonized, where it was just cooked," the suit said.

After sustaining irreparable damage to his heart, Singh was transferred to another hospital for transplant surgery, the suit said. His medical costs include special medications he must continually take because of the heart transplant.

According to media reports, Edwards said it would challenge the jury award by arguing that punitive damages were unwarranted because Vigilance monitors have a stellar performance record in millions of medical procedures.

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Singh was represented by Joel Cunningham and Robert Gellatly Jr. of Luvera, Barnett, Brindley, Benninger & Cunningham in Seattle.Edwards is represented by Kevin Baumgardner and Steven Fogg of Corr, Cronin, Michelson, Baumgardner & Preece and Kathy Cochran of Wilson, Smith, Cochran & Dickerson, both in Seattle.