Jurors reject malpractice claim by football coach
MGH surgeons held not liable for complications
A Suffolk Superior Court jury cleared two surgeons from Massachusetts General Hospital yesterday of any misconduct in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by Charlie Weis, the former offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots who is now head coach of the Notre Dame football team.
After deliberating less than three hours, jurors found that Charles Ferguson, director of Mass. General's surgical residency program, and Richard Hodin, a gastrointestinal surgeon and professor at Harvard Medical School, had not botched the gastric bypass surgery Weis underwent in June 2002.
Weis, 51, who became ill after the operation, alleged that the surgeons were negligent for letting him bleed internally for 30 hours before they started a second surgery to respond to the complication. He testified he still has numbness and pain in his feet and had to use a motorized cart shortly after the operation.
Weis sued for pain and suffering. Jurors, had they found in his favor, would have determined any compensation for damages.
Boston lawyer Michael E. Mone, who represented Weis, said he doubts his client will appeal.
"Obviously, Mr. Weis and I are disappointed," Mone said. "We recognize these cases are very difficult. They involve very complicated medical facts, and the jury listens to very different views on complicated medical facts."
He added: "There are no issues that came up at the trial that would appear to be the basis for an appeal."
It was the second time the case had gone to trial. In February, a judge declared a mistrial after Ferguson and Hodin helped a juror who had collapsed in the courtroom.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady testified at the first trial about the physical impact the surgery had on Weis, who helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls. Brady did not testify at the second trial.
Asked whether Brady's absence in the second trial made a difference, Mone said it was more effective to have the star quarterback's testimony read to the jury.
The jurors had to focus on what Brady said and were not distracted by the media attention that his presence generated during the first trial, the lawyer said.
Mone said Weis was flying back to South Bend, Ind., and could not be reached for comment.
Brian Hardin, a spokesman for Notre Dame's football team, declined to comment and said Weis would not be available. A spokesman for the Patriots also declined to comment.
William J. Dailey Jr., a Boston lawyer who represented both doctors, said his clients are relieved and wish Weis well. He had argued that internal bleeding is a common complication of stomach-stapling surgery and that the doctors believed the bleeding would stop on its own. They were concerned about operating again because of risks such as a pulmonary embolism.
"I think the jury quite quickly concluded that there was no evidence that the bleeding that had occurred early in the morning on Saturday continued for any period of time," Dailey said.
"Certainly, the verdict indicates that the jury concluded the bleeding did not continue for 30 hours as had been suggested. The doctors are greatly relieved by the verdict."
At the trial, Ferguson testified that Weis had ignored his advice and pressed for the operation quickly, instead of going through a recommended six-week preoperative program, Dailey said.
He said the doctors told jurors that Weis, who weighed about 350 pounds before the surgery, lost about 100 pounds over the next year before taking the job at Notre Dame, his alma mater.
Medical malpractice lawsuits are often difficult for plaintiffs to win.
In 2005, a study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that fewer than 1 in 15 of the more than 750,000 patients who suffer injuries in hospitals each year ever file lawsuits, and only about a quarter of patients who sue ever receive money.
John R. Ellement and Mike Reiss of the Globe staff contributed to this report. David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com
(Correction: Because of incorrect information from the Associated Press, a photo caption that accompanied a story on a jury finding in favor of the doctors in a malpractice lawsuit filed by former Patriots assistant coach Charlie Weis in yesterday's City & Region section incorrectly identified the two men shown. Massachusetts General Hospital surgeon Charles Ferguson was at right and his attorney, William J. Dailey Jr., was at left.) 