The plaintiff had initially consulted with a physician associated with the Virginia Hospital Center Physician Group, LLC on October 26, 2020 regarding bariatric surgery, during which she expressed her desire for gastric sleeve surgery instead of the alternative gastric bypass surgery, after the risks and benefits of both procedures were explained to her, and she never changed her mind that she wanted the gastric sleeve procedure…medicalmalpracticelawyers.com, $3.45M Virginia Medical Malpractice Verdict For Wrong Bariatric Surgery Performed, Mar 2024
Almost one year later, on October 8, 2021, she was presented with the four-page informed consent form stating the procedure to be performed was gastric sleeve surgery, which she signed.
The medical practice’s surgery scheduler erroneously changed the gastric sleeve procedure to gastric bypass surgery. When the woman arrived for her surgery three days later, she was presented with another consent form that incorrectly stated gastric bypass surgery. The surgeon did not realize that the surgery scheduler has made the mistake, and he performed gastric bypass instead of gastric sleeve, despite the preparations that had been undertaken for a gastric sleeve procedure.
The woman’s Virginia medical malpractice lawsuit against the surgeon and the medical practice alleged a breach of the standard of care by the surgery scheduler, that the surgeon breached the standard of care by failing to review her medical records and confirming the proper procedure to be performed, and that the surgeon breached the standard of care by performing gastric bypass surgery instead of a gastric sleeve procedure.
The woman alleged that as a result of the breach of the standard of care by performing gastric bypass surgery, she has continuing gastrointestinal issues, including difficulty eating (food and liquids) and persistent nausea, as well as recurrent vomiting and diarrhea that are common complications associated with gastric bypass surgery. She also alleged that she faced the risk of malnutrition and she suffered an ulcer at the anastomosis site created during the gastric bypass surgery. She alleged that the gastric bypass procedure severely impacted her daily living.
The defendants argued that the surgeon had reviewed the medical records, including the preoperative workup, prior to performing the gastric bypass, and that he had acted in good faith based on the information available at the time of the surgery, including the consent form signed by the plaintiff on the day of the surgery that stated gastric bypass. The defense further argued that any complications the plaintiff suffered were known risks of gastric bypass surgery and were not caused by any deviation from the standard of care. The defense further argued that the plaintiff’s ongoing health issues are part of the normal recovery process for gastric bypass surgery and could not be directly attributed to any medical negligence.