Veteran’s widow gets $6 million after alleging typo led to fatal surgery

The widow of a Gwinnett County U.S. Air Force veteran who died following elective surgery reached a $6 million settlement with a cardiologist to end her lawsuit alleging a typo in a medical letter was the first of several missteps that led to his death.

Glenda Yarbrough dismissed her six years of litigation against Lance Friedland and his practice, Cardiovascular Group, over claims for her husband Ronald Yarbrough.

The settlement follows an $18.3 million jury verdict last July and a more recent order from Gwinnett County State Court Judge Ronda Colvin wiping out that verdict and granting a new trial in the case.

Ronald Yarbrough, 64, died on July 12, 2019, after more than a month of worsening medical complications including a heart attack, stemming from an elective colon surgery, case records show.

Lloyd Bell, an attorney for Glenda Yarbrough, said the couple had been together for 50 years and Ronald Yarbrough gradually declined in the hospital.

“His heart had been damaged too much to recover at that point,” Bell said. “It’s a very, very sad story because his wife was there every day.”

Ronald Yarbrough (far right) with family members before his death in 2019. (Courtesy of Glenda Yarbrough via attorney Lloyd Bell)

Friedland’s attorney confirmed the settlement to the AJC but didn’t comment further.

In her lawsuit, filed in May 2020, Glenda Yarbrough alleged her husband should not have been cleared for the colon surgery because of problems with his heart. She claimed a typo in an October 2018 medical letter from Cardiovascular Group falsely assured him his heart condition was normal when instead his arteries were clogged with plaque.

Glenda Yarbrough attached the typo letter to her complaint. It said there was “no significant calcification.” The rest of the letter was factual, according to the suit, except for one word: “no.”

The letter led to a series of other missteps by Friedland and other medical providers in the lead-up to the colon surgery on June 4, 2019, Glenda Yarbrough alleged. She claimed the colon surgery to remove benign polyps was too much for her husband’s damaged cardiovascular system, and that he suffered a heart attack several days later.

Ronald Yarbrough then underwent a 10-hour heart surgery ending on June 22, 2019, according to the complaint. Soon after, Glenda Yarbrough said his organs failed.

Before trial, Glenda Yarbrough confidentially settled her claims against Gwinnett Hospital System, case records show.

At trial, the jury found Friedland and Cardiovascular Group 70% to blame, per the verdict form. Surgeon Kota Venkatesh and his practice, Colon and Rectal Clinic, were found 30% responsible.