The plaintiff brought a medical malpractice action against two anaesthetists after experiencing intra-operative awareness during a robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy.
Due to the plaintiff's malignant hyperthermia, the defendants used Total Intravenous Anaesthesia (TIVA) rather than inhaled anaesthetic gases.
The court found that the supervising anaesthetist met the standard of care.
However, the court found that the primary anaesthetist breached the standard of care by administering an inadequate infusion rate of Propofol, particularly after significantly reducing the nitrous oxide levels.
The court concluded that this breach caused the plaintiff's intra-operative awareness.
