Medical Malpractice #4

LEAVING INSTRUMENTS INSIDE THE PATIENT

In Arizona, a man on life support in an assisted living facility was being tampered with by the employees. After his death many types of foreign objects were found in his stomach, including plastic bags, ketchup packets and candy wrappers. The employees were fired and the case was settled for $11 Million.

In 2008, a man left a ten-inch retractor in the lower abdomen of his patient, which remained unnoticed until his daughter pointed out the abnormal shape poking through his ribs. After asking another surgeon about it, the patient was told he needed immediate surgical help, and the instrument was removed. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount

A 36-year-old female patient underwent surgery after discovering a cyst in her liver. Three years later, she excreted a part of surgical forceps left in her colon, which migrated to the anus. In order to extract the remaining part of the forceps, the patient underwent surgery, and was able to remove the instrument. It had since blackened and left irreparable damage to her vital organs