Nine years after a Bowling Green woman developed serious complications from a perforated bowel following hernia surgery, a jury in Warren County awarded her and her husband more than $21 million.

Alice and Lloyd Duff sued Graves-Gilbert Clinic and Dr. Tage Haase in 2014, alleging negligence on the part of the doctor who performed the elective surgery on Alice Duff on May 31, 2013.

In a trial completed last month in Warren Circuit Court, the jury found in an 11-1 verdict that Graves-Gilbert, through Haase and another doctor not named as a defendant, failed to comply with its duty to exercise the degree of care and skill expected of a reasonably prudent physician, which factored into Duff’s injuries.

The jury unanimously awarded $1,310,887.24 to Alice Duff for past medical expenses, plus $12 million for pain and suffering. Another $8 million in damages was awarded to Lloyd Duff.

Warren Circuit Judge Steve Wilson, who presided over the trial, entered the judgment Monday.

Alice Duff was originally expected to remain in the hospital for 23 hours following the surgery, which was then revised to two to three days after the operation was performed, according to filings in the case.

Alice Duff didn’t progress well after the operation and her husband requested on multiple occasions that Haase order a CT scan.

Ten days after the operation, the Duffs requested that their family physician order the CT scan, and the scan revealed large amounts of free air in Alice Duff’s abdomen.

A second surgery led to the discovery of a perforated bowel, and Alice Duff developed an infection as a result of bowel contents spilling into her abdomen, court records show.

Attorney Chad Gardner, who was part of the legal team that represented the Duffs, said Alice Duff spent an additional seven months and 20 days in the hospital, underwent a total of five surgeries beyond the initial hernia surgery and her bloodstream infection caused retinal damage that left her legally blind.

“The jury clearly did not believe Mrs. Duff received appropriate care and she and Mr. Duff have had their lives changed forevermore after that surgery,” Gardner said. “It’s been a very rough and difficult road for them over nine years.”

Court records said a number of expert witnesses were prepared to testify that the bowel perforation was likely caused by the small bowel being brought within a stitch during the hernia surgery.

Attorneys for the Duffs argued in filings that a bowel perforation is a known complication in an operation such as Alice Duff’s hernia surgery and that the 10 days between the surgery and the diagnosis of the perforated bowel showed that the surgeons failed to meet the standard of care in this instance.

Attorneys for Haase and Graves-Gilbert contended in filings that the doctor and the clinic provided appropriate care for Alice Duff in this case and that there was no indication before the June 10, 2013, operation that discovered the perforated bowel that Alice Duff showed symptoms necessitating that operation.

Haase argued that the bowel perforation was likely caused by the suture material used to close the surgical mesh acting as a sawblade, court records said.

“The physicians at the Graves-Gilbert Clinic are greatly disappointed by the jury’s verdict,” said attorney Hamp Moore, representing the clinic and Haase. “They plan to seek all available remedies to have the verdict vacated and the case set for a new trial.”

– Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.