South Florida Injury Lawyers Blog
Recently, a hospital in the Central California city of Fresno was fined $86,000 for a medical error that almost killed a patient.
According to the Los Angeles Times, medical staffers inadvertently left a towel inside his body after surgery. It stayed there for three months until the error was discovered.
The state report indicates patient was admitted to the hospital in April 2014 to undergo a surgery on his bladder and prostate. Everyone expects to feel a little rough after surgery, but the patient later told investigators he wasn’t getting better. In fact, as the weeks wore on, he got worse. He lost 43 pounds. His bowels weren’t working properly. He had no energy, no stamina. He later said, “I felt like I might not live.”
He returned to the doctor to report his growing list of symptoms. Doctors conducted a scan and found a large mass inside his body. He would need surgery. He feared it was cancer. However, what they discovered was a blue surgical towel that had been left behind during the earlier procedure. Continue reading →