Hospital Malpractice: Minnesota Patient has Wrong Surgery

In March 2008, a Minneapolis TV station reported a frightening story of a medical mistake in a hospital involving a patient in need of kidney surgery.

The patient, who had been had been diagnosed with a kidney tumor that was believed to be cancerous, was admitted to the hospital to have the diseased kidney removed. After surgery, when the hospital’s pathology department examined the removed kidney, they found no evidence of a malignancy. It was then that the hospital discovered a tragic mistake: they had removed the patient’s healthy kidney, not the diseased (but still functioning) kidney.

According to the news report, while the hospital has admitted their mistake, they claim the procedure may not be classified as a wrong site surgery, claiming that the surgical team’s mistake was based on an error that occurred weeks earlier: the surgical team 's completed their pre-surgical checklist to verify information regarding a surgery, they claim they relied on a mislabeled slide in the patient’s medical records.

While these types of medical mistakes are rare, hospital mistakes do occur. According to a January 2008 report released in Minnesota on medical mistakes, from October 2006 to October of 2007, the state received reports of 125 medical mistakes resulting in serious problems. Ten of these mistakes resulted in a serious disability and 13 patients died from a medical mistake at a hospital.

If you or a loved one has been injured because of medical malpractice, our lawyers may be able to help. For a free review of your case, fill out this form or call us at 1 (800) 476-6070.

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