Family of John Michael Murdoch demanding $900,000 for incident that occurred while he was allegedly awake. The family of a man in Oregon is demanding $900,000 from the hospital where his face caught on fire mid-surgery while he was allegedly awake. The allegations are contained in a malpractice lawsuit filed by the wife of John Michael Murdoch against Oregon Health and Science University, as reported by the Oregonian. The lawsuit maintains Murdoch’s ordeal unfolded as he was undergoing surgery in 2022 while being treated for squamous cell carcinoma – a cancer of the tongue. Medical staff failed to let alcohol swabbed on his face dry properly, and his face ignited, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit recounts how Murdoch’s surgery was a tracheostomy, or a procedure to insert a breathing tube into his throat. To sterilize him for the operation, he had been swabbed with isopropyl alcohol. But the alcohol did not dry properly, and a spark from a surgical tool lit his skin on fire, the lawsuit said.
Viewed by the Oregonian, the lawsuit stated that Murdoch was “awake and conscious” when the fire started and was fueled by oxygen as well as isopropyl alcohol that had not evaporated. The tool had a history of sparking, the lawsuit contended. Murdoch lived for six months after the surgery but died in June 2023. He was 52, his obituary said.
