Surgery in Oregon and across the country is safer than ever before with the advanced technology available in today’s world of health care. Even though great technological strides have been made in the medical field, doctors and surgeons are human and surgical errors can still occur. Surprisingly, it is not unheard of for surgical tools to be left inside patients after a surgery. This is allegedly what happened to a woman in another state and she has filed a lawsuit.
The lawsuit says the woman visited a hospital to have a tumor taken out of her abdomen. The surgery was thought to be successful and the woman was discharged, the suit says. However, in the days after the surgery, the woman claims she began to experience extreme pain in her abdomen, back and kidney area and visited the emergency room.
In the emergency room, doctors allegedly made a startling discovery. According to the lawsuit, a pair of forceps from her abdomen surgery had been left inside the woman. The woman then underwent another surgery to remove the forceps as well as 18 inches of her small intestine due to the foreign object left in her body, the lawsuit says. The woman seeks an unspecified amount in damages in the lawsuit.
It is true that surgical procedures are much safer these days thanks to modern technology. However, mistakes can and will happen. Those in Oregon that have been injured or lost family members due to surgical errors can pursue legal action. Financial relief and a sense of justice can come from a successfully litigated lawsuit.
Source: redding.com, “Susanville woman says SRMC left forceps in her during surgery“, Damon Arthur, Dec. 27, 2017