Oregon Man Claims Face Caught Fire During Surgery While He Was Conscious, Lawsuit States
WPBN: The hospital is being sued for $900,000 by the family of an Oregon man who sustained severe burns after his face caught fire during surgery. The victim’s face caught fire during the procedure.
John Michael Murdoch, who was 52 years old at the time, was getting a procedure in December 2022 as part of his therapy for squamous cell carcinoma, which is a type of cancer that affects the tongue.
He submitted himself to the hospital at Oregon Health & Science University in order to have a tracheostomy, which involves the insertion of a breathing tube into his throat.
His face was swabbed with isopropyl alcohol in order to sterilize it as part of the preparations that were made for that surgery.
On the other hand, because the alcohol was not allowed to dry for a sufficient amount of time, his face caught fire when it came into touch with a surgical instrument that produced a spark.
After the incident, Murdoch continued to survive for another six months until finally succumbing to cancer in June of 2023.
Murdoch suffered immensely and lived with disfiguring scars and other traumatic wounds to his face that never fully healed before he passed away, according to a lawsuit that was filed in December 2024.
Although the burns that were produced by the surgical fire were not named as the cause of his death, the claim stated that Murdoch had lived with these scars. According to the information provided by The Oregonian, the lawsuit indicated that Murdoch was “awake and conscious” during the time of the incident.
Although the victim was unable to talk, he was nonetheless able to indicate the anguish and pain he felt as a result of the tragedy, according to Ron Cheng, who was retained by Toni Murdoch, John’s widow.
According to The Oregonian, the complaint named Dr. Adam Howard, a physician whose medical license had expired in January 2024. Dr. Howard was named in the lawsuit.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe Wastes No Time, Signs Six Executive Orders After Inauguration
According to the publication, Howard is currently employed in West Virginia, which is the state in which his license is still valid. The Oregon Health and Science University is also included on the list of defendants, along with ten surgical staff members who remain anonymous.
The lawsuit stated that the conditions in the operating room where Murdoch was scheduled to undergo his procedure were at risk of fire due to the presence of oxygen, ignition sources, and fuel.
Aurora Residents Terrorized by Tren de Aragua Gang for Months, Police Announce Charges
This is referred to as the “fire triangle” in an alert that was issued by the Joint Commission, which is an organization that focuses on the safety of health care. The alert was released in October 2023.
According to the lawsuit, the instrument that was used on Murdoch and was allegedly responsible for starting the fire had a known history of causing sparks to fly.