MORGANTOWN — A woman is suing West Virginia University Board of Governors claiming it is at fault for the death of her father.
Debra Sue Lohr, as executrix and personal representative of the estate of Richard A. Rennie, claims Rennie was diagnosed with cholecystitis in June 2020 and was referred to Dr. Cynthia Graves at WVU, according to a complaint filed in Monongalia Circuit Court.
On Oct. 2, 2020, Rennie was taken to surgery for an attempted laparoscopic cholecystectomy and the common bile duct was misidentified and was transected, according to the suit.
Lohr claims an attempt was made to repair the bile duct and the left hepatic duct with a procedure known as a left and right Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy.
Graves was negligent and deviated from the standard of care and caused Rennie to suffer multiple complications and significant alterations in his nutritional status. He was placed in hospice care and died on Nov. 29, 2020, according to the suit.
During the surgery, Graves described a "wider than normal cystic duct," but as the operation continued, it became clear that the common bile duct had been misidentified as the cystic duct and had been transected, according to the suit. Imaging then confirmed the issue.
"The operating surgeon...expressed concern about the correct identification of structures before the common bile duct was transected," the complaint states. "The standard of care at that point would require at least a cholangiogram before transecting the duct or, in the alternative, conversion to an open procedure to better view and 'palpate' the duct to be certain that she was not transecting the common bile duct."
Lohr claims WVU is at fault because Graves was one of its employees.
Lohr claims Rennie suffered conscious physical pain and mental suffering prior to his death. She also claims she and Rennie's other surviving family suffered sorrow, mental anguish and solace; loss of services, protection, care and assistance; expenses for his care; and funeral and burial expenses.
Lohr is seeking compensatory damages. She is represented by William L. Frame of Wilson, Frame & Metheney PLLC in Morgantown.
Monongalia Circuit Court case number: 22-C-21
