Readers of this blog are well aware that surgical errors can cause extensive harm to a patient. Unfortunately, another one of these mishaps has occurred, leaving a woman with extensive pain as well as emotional and financial damage. When an individual suffers harm at the hands of a negligent medical, he or she should consider taking the steps necessary to file a hospital negligence lawsuit in an attempt to recover damages and punish errant behavior in a place that is supposed to be safe.
This is exactly what that woman has done. The lawsuit, filed against the woman’s surgeon and the hospital at which he works, claims the doctor breached the duty of care owed to the woman when he left five surgical sponges inside of a thigh wound. The woman had suffered a thigh injury and went to the hospital for treatment. She was to have dead skin tissue removed and, later, a skin graft.
However, after the operations, the woman continued to experience pain in her leg and excess fluid had to be drained from her thigh. An ultrasound eventually discovered the five surgical sponges that had been left behind. Though the sponges were removed, the woman had to spend an additional seven weeks in the hospital and she is unable to work because she cannot stand. It is likely that she will also have to undergo multiple surgeries to fully remedy the situation.
Filing a lawsuit against a negligent doctor not only seeks to recover compensation for a victim’s injuries, but it also punishes medical professionals and medical institutions that fail to take patient safety seriously. A Eugene, Oregon, attorney can help those who have been injured by a doctor or nurse’s mistake fight for the compensation they need to cover medical expenses and lost wages. An attorney can also be powerful when helping a victim send the message that hospital negligence will be harshly punished, which may help protect future patients from succumbing to similar hardship.
Source: The Lexington Herald-Leader, “Richmond couple sues surgeon, hospital, saying five sponges were left in thigh wound,” Justin Madden, July 23, 2014