When a person enters a New York hospital for surgery, it’s typically an uncertain situation. Surgeons and patients usually have an idea of what will occur, but there’s really no way of knowing exactly what might transpire in the operating room or during recovery. Everyone obviously hopes for the best, but sometimes things go very wrong and medical malpractice issues arise.
This is what happened to a man in another state. He underwent surgery but was not feeling well at all during recovery. In fact, he lost more than 40 pounds and was feeling so fatigued and unwell that he later said he suspected he was dying. At some point, he went back to the hospital and asked them to determine the cause of his poor health.
What was discovered came as a terrible shock to the patient, as well as hospital administrators and everyone else involved. The man was told there appeared to be a large mass inside his body. He immediately thought he had cancer and would not survive. Upon further investigation, however, doctors reportedly learned that the large mass inside the man’s abdomen was actually a blue surgical towel that someone had failed to remove during his recent surgery.
The state fined the hospital $86,000 for the mistake. When a medical patient in New York or elsewhere suffers injury or serious illness in a situation that was entirely preventable, there is often grounds for filing a medical malpractice claim in a civil court. Medical negligence often results in such tragedies, and those injured have the right to seek monetary judgment against any and all responsible parties.
Source: americanow.com, “Hospital Fined After Leaving Towel Inside Man’s Stomach“, Brendan Kelly, Accessed on May 17, 2017
