Complications Following Tonsillectomy Lead to Brain Injury, $1.1 Million Settlement

A Virginia otolaryngologist, emergency physician, and anesthesiologist have settled for more than $1 million with a pediatric patient who suffered anoxic brain injury after complications following a tonsillectomy, according to an article in Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts.

The child was four years old when he underwent tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy performed by the defendant otolaryngologist in January 2019; he returned home following the successful procedure. Five days after the procedure, the child began waking up overnight with severe stomach and throat pain and vomited dark red and black blood. The mother took the patient to the emergency department (ED). The defendant ED physician diagnosed constipation and attributed bleeding...