SEATTLE — A jury has found in favor of a University of Washington surgeon who was sued by the daughter of a patient who died after the doctor used a non-FDA-approved bone cement during the woman’s spinal surgery, a lawyer said.
In a 10-2 decision after a five-week trial, the jurors reached the decision on Friday that Dr. Jens Chapman did not act below the standard of medical care when he used the Norian bone cement on Reba Golden in 2007, according to Rick Friedman, a lawyer for Golden’s daughter, Cindy Wilson.
Golden died on the operating table but Wilson didn’t learn until 2012 that the FDA had prohibited the use of Norian for spinal surgeries.
The jury also found that Chapman failed to inform Golden about the risks associated with using Norian but concluded that an informed person would have opted to use the cement anyway, Friedman said.
Wilson also sued Synthes Inc., the maker of Norian, and four company executives, but they reached a confidential settlement with Wilson, Friedman said.
Wilson said that she’s disappointed with the decision.
“I never dreamed a jury would exonerate him knowing all the facts in the case,” she said. “I never wanted money. I wanted somebody to nail this guy because what he did was wrong.”
Tina Mankowski, a spokeswoman for Chapman and the university, said in an email: “The university is very sorry for the loss to the family of Mrs. Golden. We are grateful to the jury for its diligence in reviewing the medical facts and using them to reach its decision.”
If Chapman had fully explained the risks of using Norian in her spine, including details of Chapman’s own experiments that showed massive clotting, she never would have agreed to the use of Norian, Wilson said.
Friedman said they are considering appeal options in the case.
After the Wilson trial started, Friedman’s law firm was contacted by other Chapman patients involving the use of Norian, he said.
“We’re looking at those,” he said.
