A patient was operated on at the Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, California, in 2014. After the operation, the patient complained about:
“By 5/10/14, I had lost 43 pounds, my bowels were not working right, I had no energy, no stamina, and I felt like I might not live.”
The hospital then said they had discovered a mass in his abdominal region and the unnamed patient feared that he had cancer. He was scheduled for a second surgery and the surgeon found the problem. During the previous surgery, they had left a blue towel inside of him. The state of California then fined the hospital $86,000. Considering the fact that it was gross negligence on the part of the hospital, it’s more than likely that he will be able to sue and collect a small fortune in untaxed punitive damages.
The surgical staff at the hospital were keeping track of medical tools while performing the surgery, but not the blue towels used during the procedure. Now, the hospital has changed its protocol for its surgeons in order to keep track of the towels.
Legal analyst Tony Capozzi says that the hospital may end up paying much more than the $86,000 paid to the state initially, however.
“I think the hospital is on the line,” Capozzi said. “Not only for penalties from the state , but a lawsuit that is going to show. I believe very gross, gross negligence in this case. Which may open them up to punitive damages to punish them for what happened.”
Hospital administrators issued a statement regarding the incident, which reads in part, “As a result of this regrettable incident, we completed corrective steps that were approved by the state.”