Former University of Iowa soccer player accuses UIHC of medical negligence

IOWA CITY — A former University of Iowa soccer player is suing UI Health Care, accusing its providers of negligence in their treatment of an ankle injury she suffered in 2021 that left her with a limp and chronic pain.

Zoe S. Bessert from 2020 to 2024 attended UI, where she played forward on the soccer team but suffered an ankle injury early in the 2021 fall season, according to the lawsuit she filed Aug. 1, 2025.

Sustaining “several severe injuries to her ankle during a soccer game after colliding with another player,” Bessert on Aug. 31, 2021 saw UIHC orthopedic surgeon Kyle Duchman, who performed an “arthroscopic anterior ankle collateral ligament repair procedure.“

Two months later in October, Duchman performed a follow-up procedure to flush the wound and remove tissue to promote healing, according to the lawsuit. And six months later, he did a more invasive arthroscopy “with extensive debridement and a chondroplasty on (Bessert’s) talus” — the bone at the top of the foot that connects with the tibia.

Although the goal was to address ongoing pain and range of motion issues, Bessert in her lawsuit said she continued to complain of “anterior ankle pain with frequent grinding” and the feeling that something in her ankle was “getting stuck.”

In October 2022 — more than a year after the injury occurred — Bessert said Duchman, along with a surgical resident and an advanced registered nurse practitioner, performed a “right ankle arthroscopy with anterior and posterior debridement and bone marrow aspiration.”

During that procedure, Duchman removed “an excessive amount of bone from the talus dome, incorrectly believing that there was an impingement in the location.”

Bessert continued physical therapy for a year and experienced some returned range of motion, trying to play soccer again with regular injections of platelets, steroids, and meloxicam.

“But she never fully recovered,” according to the lawsuit. “(Bessert) eventually had to stop receiving the injections and was told by defendant Dr. Duchman that she needed to end her soccer career, and that there was nothing more he could do for her.”

Bessert in her lawsuit said she later consulted a foot and ankle specialist at Northwestern Medicine who told her Duchman never should have removed part of her talus.

In accusing UIHC of medical negligence; negligent hiring, training, retention, and supervision; and lack of informed consent, Bessert said the UIHC care she received compromised the long-term integrity of her joint.

“(Bessert) now suffers from chronic pain, walks with a limp, and must wear special shoes to assist with ambulation,” according to the lawsuit. “(Her) physical limitations have forced her to end her collegiate soccer career and dramatically reduced her quality of life.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com