On behalf of Hastings Law Firm posted in Surgical Errors on Tuesday, February 18, 2014.

According to the family of a man whose surgery ended badly, lunch was more important to an attending surgeon than finishing a procedure. To some in Texas, this tragedy may seem unthinkable. Expecting a surgeon to attend the entirety of a surgery is a reasonable demand, and in this case it was against hospital policy and may constitute medical malpractice.

A 72-year-old man went under for surgery that was intended to repair an aortic aneurysm. The surgeon who was performing the surgery had recently been in the spotlight for expertise in certain surgical techniques. However, those techniques didn’t mean much when he allegedly left to go to a luncheon instead of completing the surgery. A lawsuit claims that an assistant was instructed to close up the man’s chest in his place.

The surgery resulted in substantial complications that put the active grandfather into a vegetative state. Shortly after the botched surgery, an anonymous tipster alerted the hospital and family of the victim to the claim that the surgeon never actually finished the surgery. As a civil suit against both the hospital and the attending surgeon push forward, the man has remained on life support.

The medical malpractice suit makes an allegation of medical negligence against both the hospital and the surgeon. An investigation into the surgeon revealed that he had indeed left a surgery before ensuring that his patient was stabilized, which is a violation of the hospital’s policy. If the victim’s family is able to prove that the grandfather’s vegetative state was caused by the surgeon’s sudden departure from the surgery, then they may be awarded financial compensation that can help to pay for his medical care, take care of any future needs and soothe emotional distress caused by the surgery. Texas residents facing a similar situation can benefit from reviewing state laws that are applicable to their case before moving forward with a medical malpractice suit.

Source: lawyersandsettlements.com, Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Accuses Surgeon of Leaving Procedure Early, Gordon Gibb, Feb. 16, 2014