Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A Quay County man is suing Trigg Memorial Hospital after he said a physical therapist there re-injured his leg so badly that he required additional surgery and he feared amputation.
Craig Brashear filed the complaint on May 16 that alleges medical malpractice, medical negligence and negligent hiring and supervision by Trigg, Presbyterian Healthcare Services that operates the Tucumcari hospital and physical therapist Jeanne Lauderdale.
Brashear stated in the lawsuit he was receiving outpatient physical therapy at Trigg after surgery in June 2019. He claims Lauderdale pushed the lower portion of Brashear’s surgically repaired leg “in a very aggressive manner,” causing the knee to bend to a 105-degree range of motion.
Brashear said he felt something in his knee pop, and the bandage covering the surgical incision began to fill with blood. Lauderdale told him she was a certified wound specialist and went into another room to replace the bandage.
Brashear said he called his primary physician about the incident before allowing the bandage to be removed. The doctor advised Brashear to go home, remove the bandage and keep his knee straight for two to three days. Brashear said his knee became very bruised.
The next month after his surgical staples were removed, Brashear returned to Trigg to a different physical therapist. He said the therapist gently massaged the incision to break up scar tissue. The incision opened slightly and began squirting fluid “as if it were being squirted from a syringe.”
The therapist placed gauze and tape over the incision and instructed Brashear to see his primary care physician, as the therapist had not seen such an occurrence before.
Brashear contacted his doctor, who told him to go immediately to Holy Cross Hospital emergency room in Taos because an orthopedic surgeon was there. There, lab work and examination determined no infection, and a doctor prescribed antibiotics.
Two days later, Brashear went to Trigg for more physical therapy. He said the therapist was gentle, but the incision opened about three-fourths of an inch, with fluid oozing from it.
Five days later, Brashear went to Taos Orthopedic Institute and was examined by a doctor there. The doctor asked Brashear to bend his knee, and “fluid shot about a foot outside of the incision.”
His primary care physician soon determined the fluid was “joint fluid” and that surgery was needed.
“After the surgery, Dr. Reid expressed in his opinion that due to the aggressive therapy performed by Defendant PT Lauderdale, all the internal stitching from the first surgery, which was supposed to dissolve, had torn loose prompting a need for a second surgery,” the lawsuit states.
Brashear said he had “grave and painful concerns” that he may lose his leg.
Hospital staff informed him there was no sign of infection, and he was discharged three days after surgery.
Brashear accused Lauderdale of failing “to use the proper amount of pressure or the proper technique to avoid injury” to him. He accused Presbyterian and Trigg of negligent hiring, training, or supervision of Lauderdale.
Brashear requested a money judgment to be determined at the trial and other relief.
His attorney is Roderick Thompson of Santa Fe.
Amanda Schoenberg, a spokeswoman for Presbyterian, issued an emailed statement Thursday after receiving a copy of the lawsuit: “Presbyterian is deeply committed to the communities we serve. Although we are unable to comment on this recently filed lawsuit at this time, we respect the ongoing legal process and know that this case will be decided in the appropriate venue.”