Brigette Honaker  |  August 23, 2019

Category: Legal News

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Patients who believe they have been misdiagnosed or the victim of subpar care can file a medical malp[ractice laesuit.Doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who operated on the wrong kidney of a sick patient are now defendants in a medical malpractice lawsuit, according to The Tennessean.

Plaintiff Carla M. went to Vanderbilt in November 2017 with a fever and complaints of pain in her side. After testing, she was told doctors would need to surgically implant a stent that would thread from her urethra, through her urinary tract, and into Carla’s left kidney.

But a series of medical errors resulted in Dr. Kelvin Moses, an assistant professor of urology at Vanderbilt, and Dr. Elizabeth Green, a urology medical resident, placing the stent into Carla’s right kidney instead of the left.

Carla filed her lawsuit against Vanderbilt in March but died two months later from heart problems. Her family claims that the botched kidney operation contributed to her death. Her children are continuing the medical malpractice lawsuit on their mother’s behalf.

Wrong site, wrong procedure, and wrong patient errors are considered to be the most terrifying examples of medical malpractice and are mistakes that should never occur. The Patient Safety Network warns that these types of medical errors may be indicative of larger underlying safety concerns.

“Health care organizations in a variety of settings must manage the risks of wrong-site surgery and create a culture that ensures the safety of patients,” the American Hospital Association wrote. “Preventing wrong-site surgery is accomplished through improving the perioperative process from scheduling to incision.”

Diagnostic errors also account for a large percentage of medical malpractice cases.

According to Vanderbilt spokesman John Howser, Carla’s case was immediately investigated after a medical resident discovered the error  the next morning. The hospital reportedly implemented “corrective steps” to ensure something that would not be repeated.

“VUMC has a robust quality improvement process and adheres to the national standards for surgical timeout procedures and has state-of-the art processes and equipment to aid our physicians and to avoid error as much as possible,” Howser said, according to the Tennessean. “Human error sometimes occurs despite the best of intentions.”

Both doctors reportedly acknowledged their mistakes during depositions in Carla’s medical malpractice lawsuit. Dr. Moses said that he had reviewed the procedure plan before heading into the surgery but then incorrectly remembered the details and failed to double check.

“It was an inadvertent mistake,” Dr. Moses said in his deposition. “I don’t have an explanation for it.”

Dr. Green also admitted wrongdoing. She allegedly announced the wrong side at the beginning of the surgery. Typically, the details of a procedure are displayed on an electronic whiteboard. However, the whiteboard in this instance was reportedly malfunctioning – meaning that the details of Carla’s procedure were not readily available.

As a result of the error, Carla allegedly needed a secondary surgery to remove the misplaced stent and replace it on the correct side of her body. The medical malpractice lawsuit claims Carla suffered from subsequent urinary tract damage that caused her to need dialysis.

If you or a loved one were injured due to the negligence of another party, and you have recoverable damages, you may have a viable personal injury lawsuit. Get a free evaluation of your potential case by filling out the form on this page now!

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