Michigan Boy Awarded $500,000 For Surgery on Wrong Organ
August 6, 2002
A Michigan jury recently awarded $500,000 to a five-year-old boy whose doctor performed surgery on a wrong organ. In October 1997, Alexander Totte underwent an operation at Sparrow Hospital & Health Systems in Lansing to cure a urinary problem caused by myelomeningoceles spina bifida, a defect that prevents closure of the spinal column.
During the surgery, and seven months later during a secondary procedure, Dr. David K. Johnson, an urologist, operated on Totte's right kidney, which was healthy at the time. His left kidney, which needed treatment, was not operated on until physicians discovered the error. Attorneys representing Totte filed suit against Johnson, alleging the delayed procedure and wrong-site surgery increased Totte's risk of developing complications later in life.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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