Fudacz family, UTMC reach $650,000 settlement in 2012 botched kidney transplant

Sarah Fudacz, center, who needed the kidney, her brother Paul Fudacz, on her right, and their parents, Paul Sr. and Ellen collectively will get $650,000.

COLUMBUS — A Toledo woman, whose brother’s kidney was accidentally thrown away at the University of Toledo Medical Center before it could be implanted into her, has reached a financial settlement with the school, court records show.

Sarah Fudacz, who needed the kidney, her brother Paul Fudacz, and their parents, Paul Sr. and Ellen collectively will get $650,000.

The younger Ms. Fudacz and Mr. Fudacz were each awarded $250,000 while the parents received $150,000, said Jim Arnold of James E. Arnold & Associates, the Columbus-based law firm representing the Fudacz family.

The settlement was restricted by state-imposed limits because the incident happened at a public facility, Mr. Arnold said

“I think they are disappointed the state imposes those types of limitations in these types of cases,” he said. “It goes to the old sovereignty that you can't sue the king unless the king wants you to, and that's who the state is in this case.”

Ms. Fudacz, who was 24 at the time of the botched Aug. 10, 2012, kidney transplant surgery, was supposed to have been given a kidney taken from her younger brother but the organ was mistakenly thrown away by a nurse after it was removed. Ms. Fudacz, Mr. Fudacz, their parents, and their four siblings filed a lawsuit against UTMC in the Court of Claims in Columbus.

Court documents dated Wednesday said the court approved and confirmed the settlement agreement and dismissed the case. Court costs were assessed against UTMC, the former Medical College of Ohio, the record said.