Michigan appeals court upholds $9.7 million verdict after mother dies following tummy tuck surgery

A Michigan appeals court has upheld a nearly $9.7 million judgment against Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in the case of a 41-year-old mother of two who died after developing a severe infection following cosmetic surgery in 2017. In a ruling dated October 23, 2026, the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected the hospital’s challenges to the verdict, finding no errors that warranted overturning the judgment.The case centres on the death of Cathleen Allen, who underwent an abdominoplasty, commonly known as a tummy tuck, on May 26, 2017. According to the court’s opinion, Allen was admitted to Henry Ford Macomb Hospital’s emergency department on June 2 with chills, pain, weakness, fatigue, confusion and an inability to eat. She was treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) for five days before suffering cardiac arrest and being pronounced dead.The lawsuit alleged that delays in treating an infection following the operation contributed to Allen’s death. While the jury found the surgeon professionally negligent, it separately held the hospital administratively negligent for failing to ensure that its patient-safety procedures were properly implemented and enforced.Disagreement over infection delay...