New York patients may be interested to learn that a 60-year-old claimed in a lawsuit that a Connecticut hospital removed the wrong body part during a surgical procedure. She claimed that the doctors then attempted to cover up the mistake.
New York patients may be interested to learn that a 60-year-old claimed in a lawsuit that a Connecticut hospital removed the wrong body part during a surgical procedure. She claimed that the doctors then attempted to cover up the mistake.
The patient reportedly had surgery in 2015 in order to remove a portion of her eighth rib after a precancerous lesion was identified. Instead, the doctors removed a portion of her seventh rib. The mistake was realized after she had pain. It was only after an X-ray had been performed that she was notified that the wrong rib had been taken. Another doctor than told the couple that the surgeons took too little of the affected rib. She had to undergo an additional surgery to remove a portion of the correct rib.
The hospital issued a statement that stated that the error was recognized immediately and that the patient was informed. The error was also reported to the Connecticut Department of Health. The patient’s attorney, however, said the patient never received the apology. In fact, the complaint stated that the patient was made to undergo another surgery the same day she complained of the pain.
A patient who is required to undergo a second surgery because errors were made during the first procedure may be at serious risk. If a mistake was made and the patient suffered harm as a result, an attorney may assist with filing a surgical malpractice lawsuit seeking compensation from the doctors involved as well as the health care facility itself.
Source: CNN, “Patient accuses Yale doctors of cover-up, removing wrong body part“, Elizabeth Cohen, March 24, 2016
