Woman Settles With Hospital After Foreign Object Left In Her Body

Foreign object medical malpractice cases are some of the most frightening cases. A foreign objects case is where a surgical team unintentionally leaves a piece of equipment inside of a patient that should not be there.

For instance, during surgery a medical team forgets a scalpel, clip, or laparotomy pads. This means that a piece of equipment is left inside of the patient after the patient has been sown back up, which creates a massive risk for other internal injuries or serious infection.

In a New York medical malpractice case, a woman claimed that she had a piece of gauze left inside of her after an operation at Staten Island University Hospital. During her liver surgery, a piece of gauze was used in the operation that was left inside of her. Two weeks after the operation and when she had severe pain, she was readmitted with an abdominal abscess and massive infection in her stomach.

However, what makes this case very interesting is that she did not learn about the cause of her infection until recently when it came up in her medical records. In fact, it was more than eight years since the foreign object was found!

She brought suit to recover for her damages in having another surgery and the pain and suffering she sustained. Before the trial, she ended up settling for just over $200,000.

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