As most people in Hawaii know, the human body is amazing to consider. Each organ and system works together in complicated systems in order to allow people to function in their day-to-day lives. Unfortunately, it is also vulnerable, susceptible to viruses and foreign objects. For example, in a recently filed medical malpractice suit, one woman alleged that a foreign object was left in her now-deceased husband’s abdomen, leaving him to suffer.
According to court reports, the man was undergoing a biopsy on plaque in his abdomen. Unfortunately, after the procedure was completed he experienced severe pain. After a doctor discovered blood in the patient’s abdomen, it was packed with sponges.
Soon afterward, the man reportedly began experiencing kidney failure and sepsis. Test results revealed a foreign body. As a result, another procedure had to be performed to remove the object, a pad. The woman claims that the wound could not be closed due to infection and that her husband was left with a large painful wound that ran from his navel to his sternum.
As a result of the alleged medical malpractice, the woman claims in the lawsuit that he experienced a great deal of pain. While people in Hawaii understand that there will be a certain amount of pain associated with the recovery from a medical procedure, most patients do not anticipate a medical error made by their physician. However, if a person does become such a victim, they can seek legal recourse in a civil court, just as this woman as done.
Source: The Louisiana Record, “Widow claims medical malpractice after sponge left in husband allegedly led to severe infection“, Kyle Barnett, Sept. 29, 2014