There are many different aspects of a surgery where, if proper care isn’t exercised, serious errors can occur. One such aspect is the in-surgery identification of what specific part of the patient’s body the surgery is supposed to be performed on. Such identification seems like it would be an incredibly basic thing that would never be done incorrectly. However, surgeons do sometimes make mistakes regarding it and accidentally perform a surgery on the wrong part of a patient. When a doctor makes an error regarding what part of a patient a surgery is performed on, it can have catastrophic consequences for the patient. Such mistakes sometimes even turn out to be deadly. Thus, one hopes that all doctors make sure to exercise appropriate care when it comes to identifying the correct surgical site during a surgery.
Recently, a case has arisen here in Illinois involving allegations of the above-mentioned type of surgical error.
The case involves a colon surgery a woman underwent. The surgery involved a removal of part of the woman’s colon. The woman’s son alleges that the two doctors who performed the surgery failed to accurately identify the different limbs of the woman’s colon and accidentally removed the wrong end of her colon. According to the woman’s son, the doctors’ actions led to the woman developing sepsis and dying.
The woman’s son has brought a lawsuit in regards to the alleged surgical negligence. The two above-mentioned doctors and a hospital have been named as defendants in this lawsuit.
Source: The Madison-St. Clair Record, “Med mal suit claims surgeons removed wrong end of colon,” Kelly Holleran, Dec. 5, 2013