$350,000 Settlement for Victim Who Had Sponge Left Inside Them During Surgery | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

Medical Negligence Attorney Jim Lewis secured a $350,000 settlement for a client who suffered a serious injury after a sponge was left inside their body during gallbladder surgery. 

Jim’s client, a 55-year-old mentally challenged man from Portsmouth, VA, underwent gallbladder removal surgery. During the procedure, the surgeon used multiple sponges to control bleeding.  At the end of the surgery, the surgeon was supposed to remove all the sponges and the operating room nurses count them to make sure they were removed.

Approximately four months after the surgery, Jim’s client developed abdominal symptoms and was taken back to the hospital. It was determined that a sponge had been left in his abdomen at the conclusion of his gallbladder surgery. To remove the sponge, Jim’s client underwent an additional, elaborate and serious surgery which required extensive repairs to his bowel. It took him approximately eight months to recover.

The surgeon’s insurance company wanted to place all of the blame on the insurance company who represented the operating room nurses. Jim retained the services of two expert witness surgeons who both testified that it is the surgeon’s joint responsibility with the nurses to remove the sponge from the patient at the end of the procedure. This testimony helped lead the parties to arrive at a $350,000 settlement.