Pennsylvania woman sues doctor over claimed surgical mistake

A Pennsylvania woman has brought a medical malpractice lawsuit against a physician asserting that a surgical error on his part has resulted in nerve damage, needless pain and suffering and the need for additional medical and surgical procedures. She described the injuries that she received as being severe and permanent in nature.

Like so often occurs, the woman’s symptoms appeared relatively minor. She came to the doctor complaining of elbow pain. When medications and physical therapy did not appear to resolve her symptoms, the doctor then attempted an aspiration of a hematoma that appeared on an MRI, but the aspiration did not appear to be successful. She was then referred to another doctor, and the woman ended up undergoing surgical exploration and a nerve grafting procedure.

Since that point, additional surgical procedures have been performed. The woman also received tendon transfer surgery to deal with what was described as left radial palsy. This was deemed necessary as the woman continued to complain of various neurological symptoms such as the inability to extend her wrist adequately.

For patients, the injuries suffered from surgical errors involve more than just the need for an additional surgical procedure. Additional surgeries are often only a partial remedy as injuries from surgical errors are often permanent.

Medical malpractice attorneys can often help patients recover a sufficient sum of money to assist them in receiving the additional medical care that was necessitated by a medical mistake. Attorneys can present evidence at trial that the treatment often resulted in more harm than what was originally being treated.

No amount of money will generally make a patient whole after these sorts of mistakes are made. However, medical malpractice lawsuits will put medical providers on notice that medical mistakes and substandard care cannot be tolerated.

Source: The Pennsylvania Record, “Phila. doc, orthopedic practice, Aria Health sued for medical malpractice,” by Jon Campisi, March 28, 2013