$850,000 Surgical Negligence in Hernia Procedure
In February, Plaintiff presented to the Defendant Hospital to undergo a repair of a ventral incisional hernia. The Defendant surgeon was negligent during the February 27th surgery by injuring the mesentery, failing to identify an internal hernia and failing to lyse an adhesive band that was covering the small bowel mesentery.
On March 1st, the Defendant returned the Plaintiff to an operating room for an exploratory laparotomy. Intraoperatively, the Plaintiff was discovered to have ischemia in the terminal ileum and the right colon. The Defendant then performed a right hemicolectomy. A temporary abdominal wall closure was made with an intent to return for second look laparotomy in a few days. The Defendant created a compartment syndrome when he closed Plaintiff on March 1st but failed to reoperate on him until March 4th. In addition, the Defendant created perforations in the jejunum which he failed to recognize leading to death of small bowel and the need for an ileostomy.
On March 4, the Plaintiff was returned to an operating room by the Defendant for another exploratory laparotomy. The Defendant discovered 2 small holes along the antimesenteric border of the jejunum which were then oversewn. A segmental small bowel resection was then performed and a 1.5 centimeter perforation was discovered. This was resected and an ileostomy was ultimately performed. On March 5, the Plaintiff was transferred to another hospital for ongoing care and management of his septic shock and ischemic bowel.
Currently, the Plaintiff still has his ileostomy which requires to be emptied multiple times per day.