MOULTRIE, Ga. — In November, a Colquitt County Superior Court jury returned a $1 million medical malpractice verdict for Ed Carmen against Moultrie general surgeon Amber Aho (Holt), DO, and her group, Colquitt Regional Surgery, LLC.

The case came about from an outpatient gall bladder removal surgery that Carmen’s attorney said resulted in an emergency partial liver removal and bile duct reconstruction at Shands Hospital following an emergency transfer.

“Unfortunately, Dr. Aho failed to correctly identify what she was cutting and clipping and injured both Mr. Carmen’s liver and remaining bile duct,” said Carmen’s attorney Paul Phillips of Flynn & Phillips law firm in Albany. “There are two main techniques surgeons are supposed to use to confirm they are in the correct area and cutting correct structures when removing a patient’s gallbladder. All of the medical experts in the case agreed that these techniques are the standard of care, and that if they are followed, incorrect structures should not be injured during gallbladder removal.”

According to Phillips, Aho injured two blood vessels supplying oxygen to the right side of Carmen’s liver, which caused tissue death requiring Shands Hospital to perform a liver resection. In addition, she injured the duct draining bile from Carmen’s remaining liver, which required Shands to reconstruct this duct, Phillips said.

Carmen was awarded $1 million after incurring medical expenses of over $320,000, significant lost wages and permanent physical restrictions. 

“The jury was very attentive and intelligent in handling of the evidence and law, including some pretty complicated medical issues,” said Phillips. “After a long legal fight, it was extremely satisfying to see Ed finally receive fair compensation for his losses.”

The Moultrie Observer reached out to Aho’s lawyer, Earl McCall, over several days, but the calls were not returned.