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Jury awards 'record verdict' in civil case against Canton-Potsdam Hospital

Posted 9/10/19

Correction - An earlier version of this story indicated that a judge awarded the verdict, in fact it was awarded by a jury. CANTON -- A jury in a civil case awarded what a news release from the …

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Jury awards 'record verdict' in civil case against Canton-Potsdam Hospital

Posted

Correction - An earlier version of this story indicated that a judge awarded the verdict, in fact it was awarded by a jury.

CANTON -- A jury in a civil case awarded what a news release from the plaintiff’s attorney calls "a record verdict" to a man who was left with permanent damage from a botched surgical procedure at Canton-Potsdam Hospital.

The now-38-year-old plaintiff, who was not named in a news release, was awarded $7,436,000 after an eight-day trial in front of Judge Mary Farley in St. Lawrence County Supreme Court on Wednesday, Aug. 21. He was represented by attorney Thomas Mortati of the Martin, Harding and Mazzotti law firm.

The surgery at the center of the case was a aparoscopic cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal) that took place at Canton-Potsdam Hospital on Nov. 23, 2015. Dr. Christopher Touloukian performed the procedure.

The unidentified plaintiff "suffered severe and life altering injuries to his bile duct system," the release said.

This was "due to what the jury found was negligence on the part of the surgeon in placing a surgical clip in an admittedly wrong location," the release said.

This negligent clip placement resulted in severe damage to the common hepatic duct resulting in the need for a permanent drain protruding from the plaintiff’s chest. He will also need daily dressing changes and saline flushes and multiple annual surgical procedures for the rest of his life, among other injuries and damages, the release said.