A jury has awarded a $2.6 million Worcester medical malpractice verdict to Jorge Rosado. Rosado underwent eight operations over a five-month period after a surgical tack ended up in his small bowel. The Massachusetts medical mistake occurred in connection with a laparoscopic hernia surgery on July 24, 2004 when Rosado was just 21.
Because of his injury, Rosado, who was a mechanic, ended up in the ICU and had to use a breathing tube. He also had to undergo an ileostomy and live with an open abdominal wound for over a month. Other complications as a result of the Worcester, Massachusetts surgical mistake, included severe stomach scarring, another bowel obstruction, a dangerous infection, and other life-threatening complications. Rosado is also reportedly at risk of more bowel obstructions from adhesions in the future. He had to miss work for several months.
The titanium surgical tack, which is used to seal off surgical wounds, was supposed to stay in the lining of his stomach. The defense noted that it is a known risk for the tack to come loose over time and that during a post-operative visit about 10 days after the original surgery, it was not in Rosado’s bowel yet. However, one medical expert said that the doctor who conducted the post-operative checkup should have checked to see where the tacks were embedded while making sure that none were located in the small bowel wall or near there. He also said that if the tack had been correctly sutured to the lining, it wouldn’t have been able to end up in the small bowel wall.
Having a foreign object in your body can be very dangerous-especially when its location impacts an important organ. Medical professionals need to make sure that they don’t leave any surgical tools inside patients when performing a procedure. They also need to ensure that anything purposely inserted inside a patient is done so correctly so that no health complications can result.
Some other examples of medical malpractice:
• Dental Malpractice • Anesthesia errors • Nursing negligence • Failure to obtain informed consent • Failure to provide a certain level of care • Poor post-operative care • Failure to monitor a patient’s vitals • Medication mistakes
$2.6M awarded in malpractice case, Telegram.com, June 16, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Medical Malpractice, Nolo
Medpage Today
More Blog Posts:
Boston Medical Malpractice?: Three Wrong-Site Surgeries Performed at Beth Israel, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, January 11, 2011
Couple Settle Boston Medical Malpractice Case Over Kidney Transplant for $1.25 Million, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, August 27, 2010
Massachusetts Hospitals Racked Up Over 300 Medical Mistakes, Including Fall Accidents, Medication Errors, and Surgical Malpractice In 2008, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, April 9, 2009
An experienced Boston injury lawyer can help you determine whether you have grounds for a Massachusetts surgical malpractice case.