The University of California (UC) Regents agreed to pay $11.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 59-year-old Wayne Wolff, who alleged that negligence at UCI Health led to the amputation of his knee.
The lawsuit stemmed from what was initially expected to be a routine arthroscopic knee surgery in April 2024. According to court filings, the procedure resulted in a vascular injury that ultimately required the amputation of Wolff’s leg.
Prior to this incident, Wolff lived an active and physically demanding life. He worked in underground tunnel boring—a method of digging passages through the earth for various construction purposes—and outside of work, he regularly hunted and was an avid water skier.
At 58 years old, Wolff had begun suffering the long-term consequences of falling down the stairs of his two-story home several times. As a result, he sought treatment for knee pain exacerbated by his active lifestyle.
Wolff scheduled arthroscopic surgery at UCI Health to repair a torn meniscus in April 2024. The procedure was performed at Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center by Dr. Dean Wang, a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon, on April 3, 2024.
Wang is the chief of the sports medicine division and head orthopaedic surgeon of the UCI athletics department.
According to the complaint, during the operation, Wang severed Wolff’s popliteal artery — a major blood vessel located behind the knee that supplies oxygen-rich blood to the lower leg and foot. The lawsuit alleges that the artery was cut during the procedure and that bleeding continued for approximately 30 minutes.
Following the surgery, Wolff was transferred to the post-anesthesia care unit. Court documents state that his condition began to deteriorate shortly after the procedure. His leg reportedly became increasingly discolored and cold, and medical staff were allegedly unable to detect a pulse.
The lawsuit further alleges that Wang left for a scheduled two-day business trip to Florida following the surgery. During that time, Wolff’s condition worsened.
Lisa Wolff, Wayne Wolff’s wife and an emergency room nurse, became concerned about the lack of blood flow to her husband’s leg. According to the complaint, she repeatedly requested that doctors order an ultrasound to evaluate his condition.
The lawsuit alleges that those requests were denied multiple times. At one point, when another physician reportedly approved an ultrasound, the complaint claims that Wang canceled the imaging order. The filing argues that this delay prevented timely intervention that could have saved the limb.
In the days that followed, Wolff underwent two additional surgeries before doctors determined that the popliteal artery had been fully severed during the initial procedure. Ultimately, his leg had to be amputated. The lawsuit asserts that the loss of Wolff’s leg could have been avoided if proper imaging had been performed earlier.
“There is little doubt the use of simple imaging, such as an ultrasound, would have saved his leg. His most basic need was ignored, and recklessly neglected,” the complaint states.
Lisa Wolff filed the lawsuit against the UC Regents on Feb. 11, 2024, alleging “dependent adult abuse and negligence.” The suit named the Regents as defendants due to their oversight of the UC system.
In addition to allegations of medical negligence, Wolff’s legal team filed a motion for sanctions claiming that key evidence had been destroyed. According to court documents referenced in that motion, video footage of the surgery and internal communications between staff were allegedly not preserved.
According to the suit, Lisa Wolff asked Wang why he did not order any additional tests and cancelled the ultrasound. Wang’s response to both questions was, “I don’t know.”
The case was pending trial when the Regents agreed to settle the lawsuit for $11.5 million.
In California, non-fatal medical malpractice damages are capped at $470,000, but according to Wolff’s attorney, UCI Health’s negligence had no cap.
Despite the settlement, Wolff said the compensation does not undo the harm he experienced.
“While we are relieved that this litigation nightmare is over, there is no amount of money that can undo what has been done,” Wayne Wolff told the Orange County Register.
UCI Health did not respond to a request for comment.
Areesha Hasan is a News Intern for the winter 2026 quarter. She can be reached at hasanaf@uci.edu.
