Lead Counsel Justin Hutton, with the excellent assistance of his co-counsel and Partner Elizabeth Hutton secured a defense verdict following a weeklong jury trial in a medical malpractice case in Washington County, Tennessee. In this case the Plaintiffs attempted to use the legal doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitur to establish a case of medical malpractice due to a corneal abrasion discovered in the recovery room after a long surgery to remove metastatic melanoma from the top of his head. The facts of this case are fairly straightforward. It was undisputed that the Plaintiff woke up in the recovery room following an extensive surgery to remove metastatic melanoma and complained of eye pain in his left eye. It was later determined that his eye pain was due to a corneal abrasion. The Plaintiffs sought non-economic damages in the amount of $1.2 to $1.5 million for pain and suffering, permanent disfigurement, and loss of consortium. The Plaintiffs could find no evidence of a violation of the standard of care by the surgeon. At trial the Plaintiffs presented an optometrist and a general surgeon to present proof of causation. The Defendant surgeon testified on his own behalf as an expert, and presented expert proof from another surgeon to show that the instrumentality in his exclusive control could not have caused an injury to the Plaintiff’s cornea due to having his eyelids taped closed prior to surgery and not being removed until after surgery was completed. Moreover, there was no sign of injury to the Plaintiff’s eyelid, or eyebrow. The Defendant surgeon also presented proof that corneal abrasions can occur to individuals in surgery, or in the recovery room without anyone being negligent. Moreover, there was no proof presented that the injury was caused by the surgeon, or that the injury was preventable. The jury returned a unanimous decision in favor of all defendants finding that the injury was brought about by a cause other than the Defendants negligence.