Dr. Greenky and SOS Lawsuit: $2M Verdict and Settlement

The Dr. Greenky SOS lawsuit refers to a medical malpractice case in which a Syracuse jury found orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brett Greenky and his practice, Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, negligent in a 2013 hip replacement and awarded patient Dorothy G. Murphy $2 million in July 2019. A state Supreme Court judge upheld the verdict that December, and Greenky later withdrew his appeal after reaching a confidential settlement with Murphy in May 2020.¹

What Dorothy Murphy Alleged

Murphy, then 63, had hip replacement surgery performed by Greenky at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse in 2013. Her lawsuit alleged that Greenky removed too much bone and fractured her femur during the operation, then failed to tell her about the fracture for six weeks and failed to properly treat it afterward.²

Murphy also claimed she had not been told that someone other than Greenky would complete parts of her operation. Her attorney, Robert Lahm, described Greenky’s approach at trial as “assembly line” surgery: Greenky performed the most critical portion of a procedure, then left to begin another patient in a different room while a resident or physician assistant closed the wound. Murphy was the seventh of 14 patients on Greenky’s schedule that day. Greenky testified he routinely worked 14-hour surgery days, staggering patients across two and sometimes three operating rooms.³

By 2019, Murphy was described as being in constant pain, walking with a limp, and relying on a cane. She had given up the soccer, softball, and skiing she once played.³

How the $2 Million Verdict Broke Down

On July 2, 2019, a jury unanimously found Greenky and SOS negligent. The $2 million award was divided into four parts:³

$1.25 million for Murphy’s past pain and suffering.
$250,000 for her future pain and suffering.
$400,000 for her husband David Murphy’s past loss of services.
$100,000 for his future loss of services.

The Staggered Surgery Issue at Trial

Greenky’s attorney, James Lantier, called the award “excessively high” and moved to have the verdict thrown out, the damages reduced, or a new trial ordered. Lantier argued Greenky had not received a fair trial, contending that Lahm’s focus on the staggered schedule was designed to “inflame the passions of the jury” by portraying the doctor as greedy. He maintained that overlapping surgery is a “safe and common” practice and that Murphy had not produced expert evidence comparing Greenky’s caseload to that of other orthopedic surgeons.²

In early December 2019, New York State Supreme Court Judge Gregory R. Gilbert rejected every defense post-trial motion and upheld the verdict. Gilbert wrote that the staggered surgery schedule “had no effect on the verdict” and was “merely the ‘ski trail’ on which the negligence of this doctor took place.” The core issue, he said, was whether Greenky fractured Murphy’s femur and failed to repair it. Gilbert also found that the plaintiff’s expert, Dr. David Hootnick, had opinions well supported by X-rays, medical records, and trial testimony, and noted that the defense’s own expert, Dr. James Reeves, agreed with Hootnick on several points. The judge concluded the damages were supported by evidence of Murphy’s diminished quality of life.⁴

Appeal Withdrawn and a Confidential Settlement

Lantier announced he would appeal to the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, Fourth Department. That appeal never produced a decision. Court documents on May 12, 2020 confirmed that Greenky withdrew his appeal after reaching a confidential settlement with Murphy. Lahm confirmed negotiations with the doctor and his insurance carrier, saying, “We came to an agreement that was satisfactory to my client and to them.” Lantier put it more briefly: “Each side gives a little and it’s done.” The financial terms were not disclosed.¹

A Separate Eye-Injury Lawsuit Against Greenky and SOS

Murphy’s case was not the only malpractice action involving Greenky and SOS. Patient Timothy White sued Greenky, SOS, anesthesia providers Dr. Mehtab Singh Bajwa and nurse anesthetist Tracie O’Shea, and St. Joseph’s Hospital, alleging he sustained an injury to his left eye during hip replacement surgery. Because White was under anesthesia, he could not identify who caused the injury, and he relied on res ipsa loquitur, the doctrine that allows a jury to infer negligence when an injury occurs while a patient is unconscious and entirely in the defendants’ care. Hospital witnesses gave conflicting accounts of when the eye irritation was first observed.⁵

In January 2017, the trial court in Onondaga County granted summary judgment to Greenky and SOS and partial summary judgment to the hospital. On May 4, 2018, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, unanimously reversed key parts of that ruling, reinstating the negligence claim against Greenky and SOS on the res ipsa loquitur theory and reinstating the full complaint against St. Joseph’s Hospital. White abandoned certain claims, including lack of informed consent and negligence in post-operative care against Greenky and SOS. A final resolution of the White case is not reflected in the available record.⁵⁶

Where Overlapping Surgery Rules Stand

The practice at the center of Murphy’s case has drawn national scrutiny. In April 2016, the American College of Surgeons updated its guidance to state that a primary attending surgeon’s involvement in concurrent surgeries on two patients in two different rooms “is not appropriate.” The guidance requires the surgeon to be present or immediately available for the full procedure and to inform patients if the surgeon will be involved in more than one operation at a time.⁷

That same year, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee surveyed 20 teaching hospitals and found all had created or modified policies on the practice. Its December 2016 report recommended that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services align hospital policies with the ACS guidance and require informed consent documents to address surgical overlaps.⁸ Under current Medicare rules, overlapping surgery is permitted as long as the surgeon is present for the “critical or key portions” of each procedure, with the definition of “critical” left largely to the individual surgeon.⁷

1
Syracuse.com. Syracuse Orthopedic Surgeon Settles With Patient Who Won $2M Malpractice Award
2
Becker’s Spine Review. Orthopedic Surgeon To Appeal $2M Malpractice Verdict Involving Overlapping Surgeries
3
Syracuse.com. Syracuse Doc Battling Verdict Says Patient Didn’t Prove 14 Surgeries A Day Unsafe
4
Syracuse.com. Judge Upholds $2M Malpractice Verdict Against Syracuse Assembly Line Surgeon
5
NY Courts. White v. Bajwa, 2018 NY Slip Op 03246
6
Findlaw. White v. Brett Greenky, M.D., Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, P.C.
7
Congress of Orthopaedic Associations. Summary of Concurrent Surgeries White Paper
8
American Hospital Association. Senate Finance Committee Issues Report on Concurrent and Overlapping Surgeries