1. Court Orders
Pain and
Suffering
Monetary
Damages
Increase in Scar
Case

2. By John Hochfelder on April 22, 2012 Posted in Scars
On February 7, 2006, Roccio Rojas, a healthy 20 year
old, donated her left kidney to her father, in a procedure
known as a laparoscopic donor nephrectomy.
During the surgery, it was discovered that Roccio’s aorta
had been lacerated – it was bleeding out extensively and
Roccio was about to die.
Ms. Rojas’s abdominal cavity had to be opened, a subcostal
incision was made and a hand placed inside to hold
pressure. Then, a vascular surgeon had to be found
immediately in order to suture the rupturing aorta.

3. Luckily, in an adjoining operating room there was a
vascular surgeon – Danielle Bajakian, M.D. - who
sutured the half centimeter aortic tear in an open
emergency procedure that saved the life of Ms. Rojas.
Ms. Rojas had a much more difficult recovery than she
and her doctors had planned, following a major open
surgery instead of a laparoscopy and with a large
abdominal scar and several lifetime medical concerns
that she would not have had if her kidney surgery had
gone as planned. So, she sued.
In the lawsuit, Ms. Rojas claimed that her urological
surgeon had negligently cut her aorta which led to
the need for the major open vascular surgery (to repair
the aorta) and its consequences. On April 22, 2010, a
Manhattan jury agreed and awarded pain and
suffering damages in the sum of $350,000 (150,000
past – 4 years, $200,000 future – 56 years).
Both sides appealed:
 defendant argued that there was no basis for liability
because the aortic injury is a recognized and acceptable
risk of the kidney procedure and that the injury likely
occurred spontaneously as a result of a failed staple

4.  plaintiff argued that the evidence showed the aorta was
cut with scissors, an unacceptable mistake and that the
monetary damages awarded for the future were
inadequate
 In Rojas v. Palese (1st Dept. 2012), the liability verdict
against the urological surgeon has been affirmed and the
future damages award has been increased from
$200,000 to $350,000.
 As a result of the appellate court decision, plaintiff’s pain
and suffering award is now $500,000 ($150,000
past, $350,000 future).
Here are additional details of plaintiff’s injuries that
are not in the decision:
 16 centimeter long, 2 centimeter wide, one-half inch
raised hypertrophic scar near the bellybutton that is
permanent, painful and embarrassing.
 50% narrowing of the aorta (because the artery wall is
incorporated into the stitching) requiring lifetime
monitoring for the development of renal vascular

5.  hypertension (high blood pressure due to narrowing of
the arteries carrying blood to the kidneys) and
claudication (pain caused by too little blood flow)
 likelihood of future surgical intervention in the aorta
Hypertrophic scars, often resulting from thermal
injuries, are hard, raised, tender and itchy. Here is an
example of such a scar under someone’s arm.
Typical laparoscopic nephrectomies do not leave
hypertrophic scars. Instead, they leave small planned
incisions that usually fade, like this:

6.  Inside Information:
 Ms. Rojas received six units of blood, replacing two-thirds
of her blood volume, so that she did not die while her
aorta was being repaired.
 Dr. Bajakian, the vascular surgeon, was originally named a
defendant in the case but the suit against her was
discontinued before trial and she was ultimately called as a
witness by plaintiff’s attorneys.
POSTED BY ATTORNEY RENE G. GARCIA:
For more information:- Some of our clients have suffered these
kind of injuries due to a serious accident. The Garcia Law
Firm, P.C. was able to successfully handle these types of cases.
For a free consultation please call us at 1-866- SCAFFOLD or
212-725-1313.