A jury awarded $20.6 million to former Portland (Ore.) Timbers player Jake Gleeson, agreeing that orthopedic surgeon Richard Edleson, MD, “violated his duty of care” during a 2018 surgery, OregonLive reported March 29.
The jury awarded the sum after a three-week-long civil trial, the report said.
Mr. Gleeson’s lawsuit, filed in 2020, centers on a leg surgery and alleged that Dr. Edleson failed to properly sterilize an orthopedic plate used in the procedure. The former goalkeeper developed an infection in his right tibia and later developed infections in both legs. After 14 more surgeries he eventually retired and can no longer run or jump without pain.
Dr. Edleson testified that he had not used steam sterilization before, but Mr. Gleeson’s case at Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center in Tualatin was an emergency, the report said. His defense also demonstrated that tests using steam sterilization showed implants were free of contamination.
Mr. Gleeson previously reached settlements with two other defendants, including an ASC partially owned by Dr. Edleson.
