Novak v. St. Pierre
Plaintiff Mildred Novak fell while walking on April 15, 2009. She sustained bilateral olecranon fractures of both elbows as a result of the fall. On April 24, 2009, defendant Patrick St. Pierre, an orthopedist, operated on her left elbow and inserted a plate.
On April 25, 2009, plaintiff went to the emergency department at Eisenhower Medical Center because she had developed some bleeding at the incision site. She returned to defendant on April 27, 2009. He found that a bone fragment had dislodged from the plate. Accordingly, he scheduled surgery to remove the plate. Before that surgery, plaintiff was brought back to the doctor by her husband. Her husband reported that she was confused, had fevers, and had increased swelling around the incision in the preceding two days. Defendant decided she had an infection. He hospitalized her and operated on her the same evening. Defendant removed the plate, curetted the bone, irrigated the site, and inserted a Penrose drain.
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