Man falls off surgical table, dies

Max DeVries was sedated and awaiting a routine surgery when he rolled off the operating table and hit his head, where doctors had earlier removed part of his skull because of brain swelling following a stroke.

The 61-year-old St. Paul man later died and the family contends St. Joseph's Hospital of St. Paul didn't use proper procedures and equipment to safeguard DeVries, who was 5-feet-5 and weighed about 300 pounds. According to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Ramsey County District Court, "The fall from the operating table was a direct cause of, or contributed to, the death of Max DeVries."

"It's a tragedy and it could have been avoided," said Shawn DeVries. His father suffered a stroke Feb. 7 and on March 8 was scheduled for a routine procedure to have a lumbar drain replaced. He was expected to leave the hospital in three days for rehabilitation.

"It was another routine procedure," Shawn DeVries said. "It was the fourth [drain] they had to replace. He was making slow and steady progress -- until the fall."

Robert Hajek, the family's attorney, said the table's three Velcro straps couldn't hold DeVries.