$11 Million Camden County Verdict Over Postoperative Treatment of a Perforated Esophagus

Virginia Eggleston was 66 and working as a teaching assistant when she underwent surgery on May 9, 2016 to repair a Zenker's diverticulum. That condition is a small pouch in the wall of the esophagus near the throat, where food and saliva can collect and make swallowing difficult. Otolaryngologist Saba Aftab, of Advocare LLC, performed the operation.

The operation itself was never the complaint. Eggleston's own expert in otolaryngology surgery testified that the surgery met the standard of care. What followed did not.

Two days after the procedure, Eggleston began having pain in her neck, her trapezius area, and her right shoulder and arm. Her husband called Advocare and described the symptoms to office personnel. According to the plaintiff's case, no one wrote them down. Aftab telephoned Eggleston the next day, and the extent of what she reported was again not entered in the medical record. Eggleston went to an urgent care facility in extreme pain. Days later her husband called the practice again about the ongoing pain, and Aftab messaged her staff to bring the patient in for an exam.

The answer came from elsewhere. After a second urgent care visit, an emergency room, and finally an orthopedic group, Eggleston was diagnosed with a microperforation of her esophagus. That opening was the route by which bacteria had reached her cervical spine, where the infection became discitis and osteomyelitis. She required a disc excision and an anterior and posterior fusion at C6 and C7. For roughly five days she was fed through a nasogastric tube while the perforation healed. From there she went to an inpatient rehabilitation facility, then home on intravenous antibiotics and a course of physical therapy.

Her expert in otolaryngology surgery told the jury that the signs and symptoms of a microperforation were not acted on appropriately, and that the surgeon had a duty to investigate further. A neurosurgery expert testified that earlier discovery would have meant conservative intravenous antibiotic therapy and would most likely have spared her the cervical fusion, and that she remains at risk for adjacent-level disease that could require future surgery.

The defense denied negligence and maintained the standard of care was met, arguing that a cervical infection would not have been suspected after this surgery because Eggleston had no fever or other symptoms typically associated with infection. Mark Alan Petraske of Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski defended the case. Michael J. Glassman of Michael J. Glassman & Associates LLC in Voorhees tried it for the plaintiffs, building the damages case on weeks of pain rated nine and ten out of ten, supported by medical records from multiple providers and occasions.

On September 10, 2024, the jury in Judge Michael J. Kassel's courtroom returned $10 million in compensatory damages for pain and suffering and $1 million to Eggleston's husband for loss of consortium. The panel found the defendant medical practice negligent and found the surgeon herself not negligent. TopVerdict later ranked the result in a tie for 35th among the top 50 medical malpractice verdicts in the United States in 2024. No public record reachable in this review shows what happened after the verdict, including any post-trial motions, appeal, or settlement.