Going in for a surgical procedure can be a very nervous or scary prospect. In a majority of surgeries there are a whole host of complications that can and may arise. However, some of us contemplate the possibilities or chances the doctor might make a mistake and operate on the patient to conclude that he or she performed an incorrect procedure on the entire wrong side or part of the body. Sadly, this doe happen a lot. Many will find it interesting to learn of out-of-state medical malpractices which lead to a recently filed lawsuit against neurosurgeon Dr. Armond Levy. The doctor had scheduled 53 year old Regina Turner of St.
Ann on April 4th for a “left-sided craniotomy bypass” at St. Clare Health Center in Fenton. The patient had been having multiple problems and her health began eroding by series or multiple mini-strokes and affected her speaking ability but was still able to be understood. The surgery took place on the scheduled date, to correct the health erosion and stop the patient from having anymore strokes. It took a number of hours to complete the surgery only to conclude that the doctor and the operating team had done the entire correct procedure on the wrong side of her brain.
After recognizing the mistake they performed the procedure on the correct side of the brain six days after the prior surgery. Before the incorrect surgery the plaintiff (Turner) was very mobile and able to care for herself as well as being cognizant. After the surgery had taken place Turner now has to have around-the-clock care for her basic needs and is also unable to speak intelligibly. She will also continue to suffer from anxiety, disfigurements, and emotional distress, as well as depression. The suit accuses the performing neurosurgeon Dr.
Armond Levy and the SSM with negligence and carelessness that led to a “wrong-site surgery”. The SSM officials declined from giving any comments pertaining to the pending litigation. Bill Hoefer, the President of the St. Clare Health Center in which the surgery took place, said “the hospital is committed to patient safety and the highest-quality of health care”. He also stated that if any health care errors arose that the hospital takes it very seriously and investigates the problem in hopes to change the process and prevent it from happening again.
According to the records 46, year old Levy was licensed to practice medicine in the beginning of 1996, and practiced at St. Anthony’s Medical Center before come to St. Clares. Levy was one out of seven board-certified neurosurgeons in Missouri and was also affiliated with SSM Neurosciences Institute, and received medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine. He has also completed a surgical internship at Brown University and a neurosurgical residency at St. Louis University and received fellowship training at hospitals in Cleveland and New York.
According to Turner’s lawsuit, its not completely Levy’s fault. The operating team has blame as well for setting up the operating room incorrectly. They even stood around the remainder of the procedure and witnessed the doctor operate on the wrong side of plaintiff Turner’s skull and brain , when they could have spoken up sooner to prevent any errors they all remained silent. It is always important to go over a checklist to make sure everything is in order and that the right procedure is being performed on the correct patient, which they all failed to do.
All defendants resulted in failure to participate in a time out, which means a group meeting to be held to discuss the details of the surgery and permits all members to ask questions as well as raise any concern, doubt, or objection about the situation. The main cause of this is lack of quality control and safety protocols. Even though the doctor was very honest and open about what happened, unlike most physicians he didn’t try to hide and deny what had happened and feels horrible about it he will be accountable for his mistake.
In the state of Missouri they have no comprehensive cap on medical malpractice on the account of the Supreme Court being struck last year with limits of being unconstitutional. However, the court upheld a cap of 350,000 for noneconomical and wrongful cases such as death. This also keeps the victim from getting any opportunity of jury award for pain, suffering, lost mobility, sight, hearing and consortium. Regina Turner isn’t the only one whom experienced a horrible, devastating procedure.
In 2010 in the journal for neurosurgeons there had been over 35 cases documented for wrong-sided craniotomies performed in the U. S. (1966-2009). Most of them were settled and never brought to the attention of the of the state licensing boards, courts, or media organizations. Hospital experts have and often will say that wrong-sited surgeries, or wrong-person and other errors should never exist with proper vigilance of the medical staff and surgeons. But mistakes happen. References: Newyorkcitymedicalmalpracticeblog. com, and stltoday. com.