Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
A Tampa urologist mistakenly performed surgery on a patient’s right testicle instead of his left in September 2019. The patient was scheduled to have surgery on his left testicle for the removal of enlarged veins, but the doctor marked the right testicle for surgery instead.
The doctor has been fined $2,500 by the State of Florida Board of Medicine and the board also has issued a letter of concern.
On Thursday the board’s final order was filed. The complaint shows that the patient arrived for a varicocelectomy, a surgery to remove enlarged veins, on September 10, 2019. This is usually an outpatient surgery that takes about 30 minutes to perform, according to the Men’s Clinic at UCLA.
Before the surgery, the doctor marked the right testicle for surgery instead of the left.
According to records, the doctor has been a Florida licensed doctor since April 1, 2019 and has no previous board discipline history.
In addition to the letter of concern and $2,500 administrative fine, the doctor will pay $2,045.56 to reimburse the Department of Health for their costs in handling this case. He will also have to take a five hour continuing medical education course involving risk management OR attend eight hours of disciplinary hearings by the Board of Medicine AND give a one hour lecture regarding wrong site surgery mistakes at a medical facility that the board approves.
A wrong site surgery happens when a doctor makes a mistake and performs surgery on the wrong body part. This is considered a surgical error that should not ever happen, but sadly this happens quite a lot. Medical professionals agree that wrong site surgeries should never happen, which is why they are considered a “never event.”
While wrong site surgeries are something that patients hope they never fall victim to, the sad truth is that these mistakes are more common than most would think. They happen pretty frequently in Florida and throughout the United States. If you or a family member has had the wrong body part operated on by a medical doctor, then you may very well have a claim for medical malpractice against the at-fault provider or even the hospital where the surgery occurred. Our experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Tampa can help you understand if you have a valid malpractice claim and walk you through the necessary steps for seeking financial compensation for damages.
While wrong site surgeries are dubbed a “never event,” researchers at Johns Hopkins have conducted studies that show doctors across the U.S. may operate on the wrong body site as often as 20 times every week. This adds up to hundreds of patients every year that fall victim to wrong site surgeries all because of a doctor’s careless mistake.
Proving medical malpractice can be a difficult task, but wrong site surgeries tend to speak for themselves. While there are still technical legal requirements that must be met with these cases, our Tampa Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help make sure all requirements are fulfilled and will prove your case in court when necessary. We will also negotiate on your behalf with the medical malpractice insurer involved. We will formulate a strategy that will show how you were harmed by the doctor’s error and what damages you incurred as a result of their negligence. We are confident that we can help you secure the full and fair compensation you deserve from the at-fault provider that operated on the wrong body part. If you would like more information on how we can assist with your claim, we urge you to reach out to us for a free consultation online or by calling us in Tampa at 813-221-3200.