An Ohio state appeals court has reclaimed a damages award from spine surgery patient Tammy Mann, who was awarded $438,000 in damages after suing Cincinnati-based Center for Advanced Spine Technologies and surgeon Abubakar Durrani, MD, in 2013, according to an Aug. 2 report from Bloomberg Law.
Ms. Mann alleged claims for negligence, failure to obtain informed consent and fraudulent misrepresentation after Dr. Durrani operated on her in 2012. Ms. Mann claimed that the surgery was unnecessary.
The state appeals court has determined that Ms. Mann improperly introduced a video collage of various deposition answers provided by the defendant physician.
The collage impacted the jury's verdict by editorializing the case. Additionally, the court noted that Ms. Mann's attorney editorialized Dr. Durrani's alleged inability to tell the truth during closing arguments.
In another case against Dr. Durrani, Stephenson v. Durrani, the court barred discussions around his lost medical license and questions around other malpractice lawsuits, deeming the information irrelevant.
The appeals court referenced that decision when addressing the case brought by Ms. Mann.
Dr. Durrani returned to his native country of Pakistan in 2013 and has not returned to the U.S. since December 2022, according to the report.
"In so concluding, we explained that the collage contained an improper discussion about the revocation of Durrani's medical licenses and the suspensions of his privileges to practice medicine from various Cincinnati medical facilities and hospitals," court documents read.
"On the authority of Stephenson, we hold that the trial court here abused its discretion in admitting the collage in this case, holding that certain aspects, standing alone, might have withstood review under an abuse of discretion. But collectively, the overall impact of the collage requires us to find that the trial court abused its discretion in connection with the collage's admission in this case."