The family of a woman who died after undergoing the removal of an intrauterine device at an outpatient surgery center has agreed to a $4.2 million settlement of their Essex County suit.
The settlement amount represents $2.2 million more than the defendant’s insurance coverage.
Michelle Crisafulli, 46, of Scotch Plains, died on Aug. 16, 2018, which was approximately a month after she underwent removal of an IUD under general anesthesia at Gregori Surgery Center in West Orange, said Bruce Nagel of Nagel Rice in Roseland. Nagel represented Crisafulli’s estate and her husband, John Crisafulli, along with Susan F. Connors of his firm.
When she underwent surgery on July 24, 2018, Crisafulli experienced a drop in blood pressure and oxygenation level, indicating trouble, but the surgery was not stopped, Nagel said. Crisafulli never regained consciousness, Nagel said.
Removal of an IUD is typically performed in a doctor’s office and without anesthesia, and it’s unclear why surgery was required for Crisafulli’s procedure, Nagel said.
Nagel said the anesthesiologist who treated Crisafulli, Peter L. Scala, erred by failing to stop the surgery when the patient showed signs of distress.
Crisafulli’s estate sued Scala, as well as his employer, American Anesthesia of New Jersey, and PMG Services, also known as Mednax. Mednax purchased American Anesthesia, Nagel said.
In a mediation with Raymond Reddin, a former Superior Court judge now with Hall Booth Smith in Saddle Brook, the defendants offered to settle for the coverage limit of $2 million. But Nagel refused to accept that amount, he said. Nagel said Essex County Superior Court Judge Thomas Moore helped the parties reach an agreement calling for the settlement to reach $4.2 million.
“What I think the plaintiffs bar really needs to focus on is you can get more than the coverage, and for some reason, it’s not been done very often,” Nagel said.
The case was ready for trial when the second part of the settlement was reached, Nagel said. Jurors would have likely found Crisafulli a sympathetic and likable person, he said. She was married and a mother of daughters who were 17 and 11 when she died, Nagel said. Crisafulli was a longtime first-grade teacher in the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District and was named the district’s teacher of the year in 2016, he said.
Ultimately, MedPro paid $2 million and Mednax paid another $2.2 million in a settlement reached May 31.
Michael R. Ricciardulli, of Ruprecht, Hart, Ricciardulli & Sherman in Westfield, representing the defendants, did not respond to a call about the settlement.
