On behalf of Hastings Law Firm posted in Hospital Negligence on Wednesday, May 6, 2015.

A Texas surgeon allegedly tried to cover up a serious error that he made while performing surgery on one of his patients, resulting in the need for outside intervention. Unfortunately, the victim suffered from potentially avoidable injuries that apparently could have been circumvented had the doctor acknowledged serious errors made during surgery. He has since been named the defendant of medical malpractice suit filed by the victim.

In 2013, a woman underwent surgery for an undisclosed procedure. While operating on her, the surgeon apparently perforated her small bowel with a tool that passed through her spine. It is unclear if any of the other medical professionals attending the surgeon were aware of the perforation, but the plaintiff claims that she was never told about the error.

Post-op, the patient says that she experienced a higher level of pain than should have been normal, and the surgeon who originally operated on her administered excessively high amounts of the narcotic pain medication morphine. Her lawsuit asserts that he did so in an attempt to cover up any symptoms of the perforation, and that he also purposely ignored worrisome signs on subsequent X-rays. Two days after her surgery, other medical workers realized what had occurred and quickly performed necessary corrective surgery. She also required additional medication to deal with the high dose of morphine that she had received.

Although she eventually received the care that she believes should have been given immediately following the surgical error, she cites damages related to the infection, complications and renal failure from which she still ended up suffering. These apparent avoidable injuries required additional and costly health care, for which she is seeking compensation. Additional damages include both physical and mental pain and suffering, disfigurement and disability, which are not atypical in claims for errors such as this in Texas.

Source: setexasrecord.com, “Patient alleges negligence in surgical outcome”, Carol Ostrow, April 28, 2015