As an Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer practicing in North Georgia, I was amazed to read about another Georgia lawsuit claiming a doctor and hospital staff committed malpractice by leaving a towel in a patient during surgery. The towel was apparently left in the patient's abdomen during a partial colectomy on February 17, 2007.
According to the article in the DaltonNow.com, the patient continued to suffer abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and loss of appetite for a full two years. It wasn't until February 26, 2009, when the patient had exploratory surgery to try to figure out what was wrong that the towel was discovered.
The patient then hired two fine lawyers in north Georgia and filed suit against the surgeon and the surgical staff at the hospital. In response to the lawsuit, the doctor says it is the hospital's fault and the hospital says that it is the doctor's fault. This type of finger pointing is not surprising, but it won't work well if the case is tried to a jury. Clearly, someone did something wrong. Under no scenario does leaving a towel in a person meet the standard of care. Pointing fingers at each other only aggravates a jury and typically leads to an increased verdict.
We unfortunately see these types of cases in our practice far too often. One of the important things to remember when pursuing a foreign object claim is that the statute of limitations is different than a typical malpractice lawsuit. When a foreign object is left in a patient's body, the action must be brought within one year after the negligent or wrongful act or omission is discovered. In an earlier blog, I discussed at length the 2 year statute of limitations applicable to most medical malpractice claims.
As I have discussed before, medical malpractice lawsuits are very complicated and require experienced lawyers to prosecute. If you believe you or a loved one have been the victim of medical malpractice, either by a foreign object being left in the body after surgery, or by any other negligent act of omission, please call me to discuss you situation. There is no fee or obligation to talk with me. If you don't call me, please speak to another experienced medical malpractice attorney to fully understand your legal rights.
