ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996 TAG: 9604040087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Below
Dr. Eric Korsh emerged victorious Wednesday from a six-day trial in which his motives for surgery were questioned, but in which he also was portrayed as a skilled doctor who did the best he could for people with severe back problems.
Korsh, a specially trained spine surgeon who was recruited in 1991 by Lewis-Gale Clinic in Salem, was sued for $2 million by Patrick Brunson, a former patient, friend and business partner.
The doctor contended that Brunson's suit was a reaction to Korsh's attempt to recover his investment from their failed horse venture. Korsh sued Brunson to recover the money, but later dropped the suit.
A Roanoke Circuit Court jury took about three hours to decide that Brunson's claim against Korsh and the clinic was unfounded.
"It didn't seem like the plaintiff had a case," said Anne Stallsmith, a computer programmer who served on the seven-member jury.
"The burden of proof is on the plaintiff, and you wait until you hear evidence that the defendant did something wrong, and that sort of never happened."
John Jessee, counsel for Korsh along with Powell Lietch, said he also expects Korsh to win other cases pending against him. Jessee said he hoped the former patients who sat in on the Brunson hearings will realize what a fine doctor Korsh is and that "the cases will stop."
Seven cases have been withdrawn, and Korsh has settled at least one suit. May trial dates have been set for two other suits, and about 30 more have been filed, several with claims of unnecessary surgery.
Because of the litigation against him, Korsh no longer works at the clinic. The spine center he helped establish is out of business. He is in private practice but still does surgery at Lewis-Gale Hospital. The hospital is a co-defendant in some of the pending suits.
Calculations by Brunson's attorney indicated that Korsh's surgeries from fall 1991 through 1993 brought in more than $8 million. The doctor testified that he was paid according to the number of operations he did.
In addition to four years in medical school and five years in residency, Korsh completed a one-year spine fellowship program at the Hospital for Special Surgeries in New York. Three surgeons who completed similar programs testified as expert witnesses that the doctor's treatment of Brunson met an accepted standard of care and was not malpractice.
Brunson, a salesman and rodeo competitor from Floyd County, said he allowed Korsh to fuse two of his lower back vertebrae, securing them with screws and metal rods, because the doctor said Brunson would be paralyzed if he didn't have the surgery. Brunson said Korsh claimed a 99 percent success rate for his operations and promised Brunson would be able to return to regular activities afterward.
Brunson has spent $59,000 for surgeries, including the operation done by Korsh and an operation by another surgeon to remove the hardware from his back.
Korsh, who operated on Brunson in April 1993, less than two months after first seeing him, testified that he never made such comments to Brunson. The only testimony that might have cast doubt on that was heard outside the presence of the jury.
Eight former patients who said Korsh made similar claims to them were to be called by the plaintiff, but Judge Kenneth Trabue ruled their testimony inadmissible. Two of the people said Korsh told them he had 100 percent success with his fusion surgeries.
Other testimony indicated that the surgeries Korsh did as a Lewis-Gale employee were 70 percent successful.
"The fact that the jury didn't hear from the other patients was a big stumbling block," said T. Daniel Frith of Roanoke, Brunson's attorney. "We may appeal. That was important evidence."
Frith said he was naturally disappointed in the outcome of the trial but that he knew the involvement of Brunson and Korsh in the horse business "complicated things for the jury."
Also, the defense's evidence that Brunson was not damaged by his surgery included a video of Brunson riding a horse and working on his farm.
Frith faces Korsh's legal team again next month, but the complaint in that case has to do with care the plaintiff received after surgery.
Brunson's case didn't set any precedents for those coming after, Frith said.
"Each case will rise or fall on its own merit," he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 82 linesby CNB