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- Article: Malpractice Suit Brings $2m

April 2, 2005 - Malpractice Suit Brings $2m – Published in The Union Leader, Manchester, NH

"A Coos County Superior Court jury yesterday awarded $2 million to the children of a Lancaster man who died of a heart attack soon after being released from stomach stapling surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

The Lancaster jury deliberated for several hours before returning the verdict in favor of two of the children of Donald Kenison Sr., 55, of Lancaster, who died on Oct. 21, 1997.

The jury found the hospital was negligent when it did not take into account Kenison's history of congestive heart failure when he underwent gastric bypass surgery, said attorney Maureen Raiche Manning, who together with attorney Christine Smith represented the family.

Attorney William Chapman of Concord, who represented the hospital, could not be reached for comment.

Yesterday was the second time a jury found the hospital negligent in Kenison's death. In 2002, a jury awarded the family $900,000. The court later ordered the case to be retried, with more expert testimony, Manning said.

Kenison, a logger, died the day after he was released from the Lebanon hospital. The suit claimed the hospital overloaded him with intravenous fluid, "causing his heart to work too hard," Manning said.

Kenison left a wife, Mary, and six children. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two of the children, Gina Bedell and Russell Kenison Sr., who represent his estate.

The trial went two weeks, with Judge Steven Houran presiding. The hospital has 30 days to file an appeal, Manning said."

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