Patient awake when fire ‘combusted’ and burned face during surgery, Oregon suit says
A man was awake when a fire “combusted around (his) head” and burned his face during a surgical procedure at an Oregon hospital, a lawsuit said.
John Murdoch suffered disfiguring facial burns from the incident during an emergency tracheostomy at Portland’s Oregon Health & Science University, or OHSU, in December 2022, according to the $900,000 lawsuit brought by his wife, Toni.
Murdoch died from cancer the following June, and he “experienced trauma, pain, suffering, embarrassment, and the loss of enjoyment of life” during his final six months because of the incident, according to the lawsuit. The suit, filed in December in Oregon Circuit Court, names the hospital, doctor and other unidentified members of the medical team as defendants.
The surgical fire was a “‘never’ event,” meaning it’s something that should never happen, Ron Cheng, attorney for the family, told McClatchy News on Jan. 13.
A spokesperson for OHSU said in an email to McClatchy News on Jan. 14 that the hospital couldn’t comment “in light of patient privacy laws and pending litigation.”
The lawsuit says the medical team improperly used “alcohol-based surgical skin preps that were more susceptible to combustion” and that “specifically contained warnings to not be used for head and neck surgery.”
The team also failed to let the flammable skin preps dry or dissipate, failed to use surgical drapes that were moistened or find another option that wasn’t flammable, and improperly used a “sparking surgical tool” near a “high oxygen flow device,” failing to reduce the tool’s intensity so it wouldn’t throw off sparks, according to the lawsuit.
A tracheostomy helps a patient breathe by making an opening in the neck to provide an airway. Murdoch needed the procedure because of cancer in his tongue, The Oregonian reported.
He was 52 years old when he died in June 2023, according to his obituary.
“Camping, fishing, and playing poker with his buddies were all things he enjoyed doing, but his true passion was for trucks and motorcycles,” the obituary said.
Murdoch lived in Sherwood, about a 17-mile drive southwest from Portland.
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Patient awake when fire ‘combusted’ and burned face during surgery, Oregon suit says."
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