Stories of Wrong Side Surgery: A Terrifying Medical Error | Carolina Medical Malpractice Lawyers

While some medical errors can seem understandable, it is terrifying to think that something like wrong side surgery can exist in these modern times and in one of the most advanced countries in the world. Yet wrong side surgery takes place more often than you would think in America and leads to complications, extra surgeries, and the loss of precious time. Here are some stories of recent wrong side surgeries:

• In 2001, construction worker Kevin Walsh went in for brain surgery to remove a dangerous blood clot. Two talented surgeons opened the 41-year-old man’s skull to drain the hematoma and save the man’s life – only to find they had operated on the wrong side of his body.
• In just two years, Rhode Island Hospital recorded five different wrong side operations – three in which doctors operated on the wrong sides of patients’ brains. The mistakes led to fines and medical malpractice lawsuits.
• In September 2009, patient Francisco Torres, 72, had his healthy kidney removed instead of his diseased one – leaving him with no working kidneys and painful dialysis treatments every three days for the rest of this life.
• Richard Flagg entered the hospital with a diseased and cancerous lung – but during the surgery doctors removed his healthy lung by accident. The man survived for three years with only his bad lung before dying of the medical malpractice mistake.
• Even though nurses had clearly labeled the correct operation site, an orthopedic surgeon operated on the wrong foot of a patient in Boston. It was the fifth wrong site surgery to take place in Massachusetts in as many months.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have extensive experience handling medical malpractice cases. Please take a few moments to review our medical malpractice case results. We serve every area of North Carolina, including the Outer Banks, Nags Head and the western mountains, as well as all the cities and counties in between. In South Carolina, we cover the state from Myrtle Beach and Charleston to Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Darlington, Aiken, Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been included among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008 and we have been named one of the Best Injury Law Firms in North Carolina for personal injury law since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report. In addition, we have been listed in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009 and our firm has the highest rating of AV from national lawyer ranking organization Martindale-Hubbell. That means we have a reputation for demonstrating preeminent legal skill.

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