Hunter
09/02/25
A former University of Iowa soccer player is suing UI Health Care for negligence.
The Gazette reports Zoe Bessert filed suit on August 1st, accusing the facility of improperly treating an ankle injury she suffered playing as forward on the team early in the 2021 fall season.
The injury was suffered after she collided with another player. Orthopedic surgeon Kyle Duchman performed an “arthroscopic anterior ankle collateral ligament repair procedure“ on August 31st, 2021.
A follow-up procedure was performed in October to flush the wound, and another more invasive arthroscopy was performed six months later. Bessert said despite the surgeries, she still complained of ankle pain and the feeling that something in her ankle was, quote, “getting stuck.”
Dr. Duchman performed a fourth procedure on Bessert in October 2022. According to the lawsuit, he removed an excessive amount of bone from the talus dome in the ankle, incorrectly believing it to be the cause of her pain and limited range of motion.
A year’s worth of physical therapy and regular injection treatments returned some range of motion but Bessert never fully recovered and was told that she needed to end her soccer career. A later consultation with a foot and ankle specialist at Northwestern Medicine reportedly concluded Dr. Duchman should have never removed part of the talus.
The suit claims Bessert suffers from chronic pain and walks with a limp, forcing her to end her collegiate soccer career and has a dramatically reduced quality of life.
The Gazette article does not mention a dollar amount sought by Bessert.