Tennessee Surgical Errors Can Happen: Some U.S. Horror Stories
Every operating medical team goes into surgery with the best of intentions. And most every patient trusts that each team will do their very best to be successful. However, surgical errors do happen, and when they do, the results can be harmful – or even fatal.
As Memphis MedMal lawyers, we know just how devastating Tennessee operating room mistakes can be. And while they do not happen often, they do happen. The result is often a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Here are a few examples from around the United States:
- The New York Times reported in an October 2010 summary of a Colorado research study that in one case a chest tube was inserted into the wrong lung, a healthy one, causing collapse and patient death. In other cases, a healthy ovary was removed, the wrong side of a patient’s brain was operated on and wrong body parts were operated on including an eye, knee, foot, elbow and hand.
- A 17-year-old girl received a heart and lungs that did not match her blood type and died at Duke University Medical Center.
- A toddler died after a circumcision at Manhattan’s Beth Israel Medical Center. Family members claim that the boy was given a general anesthetic when all he needed was a local.
- A 49-year-old man, undergoing the removal of a tumor in his abdomen, found that the operating room team at the University of Washington Medical Center had left a 13-inch metal retractor in his body.
- A 67-year-old woman underwent open-heart surgery when she was supposed to be discharged from the hospital the next day.
- In 2007, an 82-year-old woman suffering a brain bleed on the left side of her head, but the surgeons at Rhode Island Hospital operated on the right side. It was the third time in a year.
- One of the best-known and well-publicized surgical mistakes happened in 1995 when a Florida surgeon removed 52-year-old Willie King’s leg – but it was the wrong one.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a Tennessee surgical error, you should explore your legal options. You may very well have a medical malpractice lawsuit. Call us at Bailey & Greer today toll-free to get your questions answered at 901-680-9777.
Since graduating magna cum laude in 2005 from the University of Memphis School of Law, Thomas has helped make a difference in the lives of victims of serious personal injury, wrongful death, and professional negligence. Thomas has extensive trial experience in both state and federal court. Among other victories in the courtroom, Thomas obtained several impressive jury verdicts and settlements
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