Woman Awarded $10.5 Million in Anesthesia Malpractice Case

A Connecticut jury awarded Karla Rosa, mother of two children, $10.5 million for permanent and debilitating injuries she suffered in 2006 as a result of improper anesthesia care during surgery. Rosa was left in a coma for 26 days followed by 29 days in the hospital’s intensive care unit and 45 days in verbal and orthopedic rehabilitation. She remains in need of assistance as a result of the medical event.
According to the lawsuit, as a result of the “carelessness and negligence” of Anesthesia Associates in its pre-operative assessments, use of anesthesia equipment and patient monitoring, Rosa suffered “serious, severe, painful and permanent injuries” that caused her to be “permanently deprived of her full ability to carry on and enjoy life’s activities.” Named as co-defendants in the medical malpractice lawsuit were anesthesiologists Drs. Thomas Meitt and Bart Calobrisi, who died in February, and Jean Richeimer, certified nurse anesthetist. Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London was originally also named as a co-defendant, but it was later dropped from the case.