One of Virginia’s medical malpractice laws recognizes allowing a surgical instrument to remain inside a patient’s body as an “act of negligence [that] clearly lies within the range of [a] jury’s common knowledge and experience.” What this means, among other things, is that a person who has substantive proof that an object was left in their body and that the error cased substantial harm can proceed directly to filing an insurance claim or civil lawsuit against the responsible surgeon and the hospital where the error occurred. Substantial harms from a retained surgical object include follow-up surgeries, infections, internal injuries and bleeding, and pain and suffering.
EJL