A routine "mommy makeover" surgery left Jacksonville resident David Boon without a wife and his children without a mother. The widower, David Boon, is taking the two doctors who performed the tummy tucks and other surgeries to court for medical malpractice. Snyder and Snyder's medical malpractice lawyers believe he has a strong case.
Brooke Boon, Mr. Boon’s wife, died on August 12 due to a pulmonary embolism-a blood clot in her lung-three days after this elective surgery. She was a civil attorney who had taken time off to give birth to the Boons’ two children, Dashiell and Rushton. She decided to undergo this surgery before returning to the workplace.
In the lawsuit, Mrs. Boon’s plastic surgeon Daniel Calloway and her primary care physician, Gary Glicksteen, are accused of negligence by not taking Mrs. Boon off the contraceptive pill, Yasmin. Both men supposedly knew that she was taking the medication, and Mr. Boon’s family attorney claims to have strong evidence to support this. Additionally, as physicians, both know the risks associated with Yasmin and the surgery. Along with the two doctors, Internal Medical Group/Baptist Primary Care is on the defense as employers of Dr. Glicksteen.
Standard medical procedure for elective surgery calls for discontinuation of any oral contraceptives for four weeks prior to surgery and for two weeks after the surgery. It is also standard procedure in any surgical situation to minimize the risk of blood clots, which may include temporarily prescribing anticoagulants following the surgery.
Both doctors denied any wrongdoing in the negotiations prior to the lawsuit. However, the fact that Mrs. Boon died within three days of surgery of a blood clot in her lung is highly suspect. Between the standard procedures regarding oral contraceptives and other standard procedures to prevent blood clots, there should have been virtually no chance of Mrs. Boon developing a pulmonary embolism so soon after her surgery.
For more information about this case, click here.