Daniel E. Holloway
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CHOA Scottish Rite amended complaint alleges improperly maintained surgical drill overheated before a facial burn

The amended complaint alleges that a surgical drill overheated during oral surgery on a 16-year-old patient at CHOA’s Scottish Rite facility. The patient, who has cerebral palsy, was having impacted wisdom teeth extracted on August 6, 2020. Upon information and belief, the part of the drill resting on her lip overheated within the first 30 to 60 seconds. It caused a third-degree burn. The amended complaint alleges the burn left her with permanent facial disfigurement after a lengthy, painful recovery. It alleges the surgeon did not properly inspect the drill before using it and the hospital did not properly maintain it. It also alleges, upon information and belief, that the hospital used a third-party repair service despite known risks, to save money.

System
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc.
Facility
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta - Scottish Rite
Providers involved
Dr. Glenn Maron / Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc.
Pattern
Alleged failure to inspect and maintain a surgical drill before an oral surgery
Harm
Alleged third-degree burn and permanent facial disfigurement from an overheating surgical instrument

Overview

This page concerns a public amended complaint alleging that an improperly maintained surgical drill overheated and burned a patient during oral surgery.

Chronology

The complaint alleges as follows:

  1. On August 6, 2020, a 16-year-old patient with cerebral palsy was brought to CHOA’s Scottish Rite facility to have impacted wisdom teeth extracted.
  2. The surgeon performed the surgery using a Stryker Total Performance System Micro Drill.
  3. Upon information and belief, the part of the drill resting on the patient’s lip overheated within the first 30 to 60 seconds. It caused a third-degree burn.
  4. The burn was non-treatable and left the patient with permanent facial disfigurement after a lengthy, painful recovery.
  5. Upon information and belief, CHOA pulled the drill from service that day and returned it to use at Scottish Rite about 30 days later.

Alleged failures

The complaint alleges the following failures:

  • The surgeon did not properly inspect the drill before the patient’s surgery to determine whether it was defective or malfunctioning.
  • CHOA did not properly maintain or inspect the drill. Upon information and belief, it used a third-party repair service for irregular maintenance despite knowing the risks.
  • The amended complaint alleges, upon information and belief, that CHOA chose the third-party repair service to save money. It alleges this rises to gross negligence, wanton misconduct, or recklessness.
  • The amended complaint alleges the surgeon’s and CHOA’s negligence factually and proximately caused the burn.
  • The amended complaint pleads medical malpractice against the surgeon and both ordinary and medical-malpractice negligence against CHOA. It also pleads gross negligence and punitive damages against CHOA and attorneys’ fees against all defendants, with an expert affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1.

Entities and tags

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta - Scottish RiteChildren’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc.Stryker Total Performance System Micro DrillThird-degree burnFacial disfigurementOral surgeryDeKalb CountyEquipment failureBurn injurySurgical errorOral and Maxillofacial SurgeryPediatric surgerySurgical Equipment Maintenance