By Brad Zinn
STAUNTON – A jury on Tuesday awarded a woman $1.75 million in a lawsuit where she sued an Augusta County orthopedic surgeon and Orthopedics Associates LTD in Fishersville following a knee replacement operation that resulted in one of her legs being amputated.
The four-day trial ended Friday without a verdict, but the jury resumed its deliberations on Tuesday morning before reaching its decision.
Mae Reeder filed the lawsuit in May 2014. In it she claimed that Dr. Kenneth Boatright diagnosed her with bilateral osteoarthritis of the knees and recommended a double knee replacement. Following the medical procedure in March 2013, the lawsuit states that Reeder “was found to have no pulse as well as a cold right foot.”
A vascular surgeon was notified, the lawsuit said, and an exam revealed there was no pulse below the femoral line. Emergency surgery was ordered.
During the surgery, a surgeon observed a large amount of bleeding from the popliteal artery, according to the lawsuit. Despite the surgeon’s efforts, the lawsuit said Reeder’s foot remained poorly perfused and her right leg was amputated days later.
