CVN screenshot of defense attorney Rodney Sharp delivering his closing argument
Clayton, MO - A Missouri state court jury has returned a defense verdict in favor of an orthopedist who faced accusations of not disclosing a bone fracture to a patient after hip replacement surgery, and the full trial was recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
The St. Louis County jury returned their verdict on April 11 shortly after hearing closing arguments in a four day trial. Plaintiff Sunie Lasky blamed Dr. Christopher Mudd of Orthopedic Associates LLC for allegedly not telling her about a post-surgical fracture while still prescribing physical therapy, but the defense successfully argued the conservative course of treatment Dr. Mudd prescribed for an unconfirmed fracture was consistent with the standard of care.
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Lasky’s attorney Alvin Wolff of Wolff & Wolff Trial Lawyers told CVN after the trial concluded he would seek a retrial, and that he knew he faced long odds going into a trial with zero settlement offers from the defense.
“We are filing a motion for a new trial based on instructional error,” he said. “We always know it’s a tough case when there is no offer but we felt that what happened to our client deserved a chance to tell her story to the jury.”
Attorneys for the defense did not respond to a request for comment.
Wolff detailed to jurors that Lasky went to Dr. Mudd for a hip replacement in 2017 after being diagnosed with “bone on bone” pain. While the initial operation went well she developed complications and had to go in for a second operation, known as a revision procedure, a few weeks later.
Wolff claimed Lasky subsequently developed a fracture in the hip bone called the trochanter, but she testified this was never revealed to her even as she was asked to participate in physical therapy that supposedly put stress directly on the area.
The condition worsened to the point of causing muscle damage that Wolff, who asked the jury to award roughly $500,000 in damages, said it was now irreversible.
“Nowhere is it discussed in Dr. Mudd’s records that there has been any greater trochanter fracture even after the X-ray shows the separation of the bone,” he said during closing arguments.
Defense attorney Rodney Sharp of Sandberg Phoenix told jurors that Lasky’s post-surgical X-rays weren’t nearly as definitive as her attorneys suggested, but rather showed a slight discoloration that was at best ambiguous.
“What was shown on the films was not definitive for fracture,” he insisted, while also explaining that even if there was a fracture it was “non-displaced” meaning it had no impact on stability or joint alignment.
Sharp told jurors Dr. Mudd had a clear recollection of discussing the potential fracture with Lasky, whose attorney admitted was susceptible to memory problems. However he insisted that either way, a conservative treatment regimen of reduced weight-bearing and consistent x-ray monitoring was ”appropriate and well within the standard of care”.
He argued that issues like pain and a difference in leg lengths are common complications from hip replacement surgery, and that the revision surgery Lasky had was a much riskier procedure to the point that some surgeons refuse to perform them.
“Revision surgeries carry greater risks,” Sharp emphasized.
The trial took place before Judge Brian May.
The case is captioned Sunie Lasky v. Orthopedic Associates LLC, case number 23SL-CC01805 in Clayton County, Missouri.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
