Man accuses out-of-state hospital of medical malpractice
A former patient of an out-of-state hospital recently filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the facility. The suit was filed in the district court of the state. Similarly, when Pennsylvania residents are the victims of medical malpractice, they retain the right to file medical malpractice suits.
The suit alleges that a man went to this particular hospital in Dec. 2013 in order to be treated for a hiatal hernia as well as gastroesophageal reflux disease. The doctors chose to abort the man’s operation after they noted a large artery was bleeding. As a result, the operation was changed to a laparotomy, also known as an open abdominal exploration.
Sponges and pads were used by doctors and nurses to help control the patient’s bleeding and, after the bleeding was under control, the doctors of Baylor Hospital in Waco, Texas, performed the originally scheduled surgery. Afterwards, hospital officials realized that the proper accounting for the sponges used was not performed, so a radiographic procedure was utilized to locate any stray sponges. None were found, and the patient was transferred out of the operating room. The suit says that the patient later suffered a marked deterioration and was placed in the intensive care unit; after a scan and an additional surgery, it was discovered that two large laparotomy pads had been left inside the patient.
Surgical objects that are left in the patient are considered completely preventable, which places them on the ‘never event’ list. Medicare and Medicaid will not provide reimbursement to patients, as this error cannot occur in the complete absence of negligence, the suit says. As a result of the hospital’s negligence, the victim suffered a number of additional injuries that required additional surgery, as well as invasive testing and other medical procedures. When Pennsylvania residents receive similar negligent treatment from health care professionals, the victims typically consult with experienced personal injury attorneys, who often begin by assessing the validity of the victims’ medical malpractice claims.
