Amy B. Heinrich obtained a defense verdict in the Circuit Court for Howard County for her client, a general surgeon. The plaintiff alleged that, despite having symptoms and imaging consistent with gallbladder disease, the general surgeon should have suspected agenesis of the gallbladder – a very rare condition in which the gallbladder is congenitally absent – and should not have recommended gallbladder removal surgery. The plaintiff further alleged that the common bile duct was negligently injured during the surgery necessitating additional treatment. The defense argued that the surgery was indicated for this patient given the imaging and clinical presentation, that the surgery was performed appropriately, and that the patient had an unforeseeable and unavoidable complication given the atypical anatomy. After a seven-day trial, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the doctor on both a count of medical negligence and on a count of lack of informed consent.
