This was a lesson Victoria and Steve Stamper learned when a surgical error by Dr. Michael Draznik left Victoria fighting for her life. Victoria Stamper shouldn’t have even needed to have the surgery that put her life in jeopardy, but an earlier mistake by Draznik during a routine partial hysterectomy left Victoria with scar tissue and with remnants of a fallopian tube inside of her.

For more than a year, Victoria battled with pain and gastrointestinal distress. Draznik performed another operation to remove the rest of the fallopian tube – which no one had even told her was still there until a few days earlier – and, in the course of the procedure, nicked her bowel. The perforated bowel went undetected for four days, during which time Victoria suffered pain, fever, tachycardia, hypotension and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In short, Victoria Stamper became septic during those four days where her condition went undiagnosed by Draznik or anyone else at The Christ Hospital. It took three full days for anyone to even order an abdominal CT scan.

Victoria Stamper underwent numerous surgeries and procedures and was intubated for approximately a week. When they finally pulled the tube out, Victoria couldn’t catch her breath. The damage to her lungs, caused by the delay in diagnosis, left her with permanent lung damage. She lost 20 % of her lung capacity and still uses a walker to get around.

The case against Michael Draznik was complex; there were multiple parties involved, and the medical professional fought malpractice charges at every step of the way. This type of complex litigation requires a skillful and dedicated trial attorney, which is why the Stampers turned to Crandall & Pera Law’s own Marc Pera for their medical malpractice case. Over the course of two weeks, Marc used thousands of pages’ worth of medical documentation and records, interviews, hospital policies and discoveries to show that the negligence of Michael Draznik led to Victoria’s undiagnosed sepsis and resulted in permanent injuries. After only three days of deliberations, the Hamilton County jury ruled in favor of the Stampers, and awarded them $1.2 million dollars in damages: $700,000 for Victoria and $425,000 for her husband, Steve, for his loss of consortium.

For attorneys like Marc Pera, these are bittersweet victories. Yes, the Stampers found justice in a courtroom – but this could have and should have been avoided.