September 5, 2013
The North Carolina Medical Malpractice Lawyers with HensonFuerst Injury Lawyers explain that one of the leading causes of negligence claims being filed against doctors and hospitals is surgical errors. Data from an annual report released by the National Practitioner Data Bank showed that 49,429 medical malpractice payments were made in the United States between 1990 and 2002 due to surgery-related malpractice.
More recently though, a lawsuit was filed against Duke University and two of its doctors after a surgical error resulted in a patient’s small intestine being incorrectly reattached to the body.
According to a story from The Herald-Sun, the surgery occurred in March 2008 after the woman was admitted to Duke University’s hospital. During the procedure, a pair of doctors connected the woman’s small intestine to her vagina rather than her anus.
The mistake was corrected with a second procedure, but the mistake was costly and caused the patient to suffer a psychiatric disorder induced by the stress of the situation.
The victim and her husband filed suit against the hospital and the two doctors, claiming their negligence was directly responsible for the damages and losses they incurred. The hospital refuted the claims, stating trained professionals would need to determine negligence in the case under the law; however, the Court of Appeals ruled the case should move forward.
HensonFuerst’s team of North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers hope a decision in the case brings closure to the victims.
