Cox v. UofL Health, Inc., University of Louisville Hospital, et al.

January 2026

Case involved an episode of intraoperative awareness during an orthopedic surgery. Anesthesia was administered through IV because the patient had history of post-operative nausea and vomiting from receiving anesthesia gas, but the IV failed during the surgery. The anesthesia team recognized a spike in brain activity and promptly administered anesthesia gas. The plaintiff alleged recall of surgical events and pain as well as PTSD from the experience.

Before trial, the plaintiff sought over $71 million in damages. After we obtained a directed verdict on independent negligence claims and punitive damages, the plaintiff asked the jury to award roughly $30 million.

We represented the hospital (University of Louisville Hospital) and the parent company (UofL Health, Inc.). Josh Davis, Andie Camden, and Caroline Brunderman of O’Bryan Brown & Toner represented University of Louisville Physicians and Dr. James Chen, the attending anesthesiologist.

The jury returned a full defense verdict.

Ellie Davis was lead counsel on the case. Joey Wright assisted during the trial.