Collapsed surgical table case gets go-ahead

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An appeals court Wednesday cleared the way for a lawsuit filed by a man who was injured when a surgical table collapsed as he was undergoing sedation for eye surgery.

A three-judge panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal said a lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County by Charles Bloomer against the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute can proceed as an ordinary negligence case.

Bascom Palmer contended that the lawsuit should be treated as a medical-malpractice case. That could have scuttled the case because Bloomer did not meet a pre-suit notice requirement under the state’s medical-malpractice laws.

A circuit judge also ruled against Bascom Palmer. “Bloomer alleged no act during, or directly resulting from, the sedation procedure as a cause of the collapse,” said Wednesday’s five-page decision, written by Judge Alexander Bokor and joined by Judges Norma Lindsey and Monica Gordo.

“Similarly, Bloomer alleges no action or inaction resulting from medical judgment or skill. Instead, Bloomer alleges that the table collapsed under him during sedation for his eye procedure. That the table was being used for a medical procedure at the time of the injury does not, without more, establish a prima facie medical malpractice claim.” The decision does not detail the injuries suffered by Bloomer.