Patrick Lysaught Obtained Defense Verdict in Federal Court Pain Pump Trial

On October 15, 2010, after a four week trial in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon (Portland), a nine-person jury returned a unanimous defense verdict in a case involving allegations of post-arthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL) after the infusion of local anesthetics via pain pump into the shoulders of plaintiffs following arthroscopic surgeries. PAGCL is the total destruction of cartilage in the shoulder.

The case involved the claims of three plaintiffs whose individual cases were consolidated for trial against the manufacturer and distributor of the pain pumps at issue. DJO, LLC, the pain pump distributor, was a named defendant in two of the three cases being tried. DJO’s defense was lead by Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice LLC (BSCR) attorney Pat Lysaught, who was selected as national trial counsel by DJO, with the assistance of various BSCR attorneys, including Elizabeth Raines and Ed O’Reilly.

Each plaintiff sought from $6 to 9 million in actual damages and sought punitive damages against DJO as well. Each plaintiff had made non-negotiable demands in the $3 to 5 million dollar range prior to trial. Prior to trial, plaintiffs’ counsel maintained that DJO was the target defendant and argued in closing that DJO should bear at least 50 percent of the liability. Two prior cases had been tried in which BSCR’s client was not a defendant, the first of which resulted in a verdict of $5,475,000 and the second of which settled after a week of trial with an estimated range of settlement in the mid-seven figures.

In returning a defense verdict, the jury made a specific finding that BSCR’s client DJO was not negligent in its alleged failure to give adequate warnings regarding the use of the pain pump on chondrolysis. On plaintiffs’ strict liability claims, the jury also found that the pain pump was not defective or unreasonably dangerous due to inadequate warnings.

This is the first trial in this nationwide litigation involving pain pumps in which BSCR’s client DJO was a defendant.