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Towel victim cleans up
Posted: 2003-10-08 09:32am
by BoredShirtless
Towel victim cleans up
October 8, 2003
An American whose doctors left a surgical towel in his abdomen after he underwent surgery for an aortic aneurysm was awarded $455,000 in damages.
William Barlow, 62, developed a blood infection and fever after leaving Miami's Veteran's Administration hospital in December 2000, according to a summary of the case released by the judge today. The 41-by-71-centimetre towel was removed four months later.
The VA conceded fault on the forgotten towel but tried to limit the damage award, citing Barlow's poor health and obesity. A message left with the government's lawyer was not returned.
US District Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages, who heard the trial without a jury, decided Barlow's existing medical problems, including emphysema and diabetes, were aggravated by the infection, the 10-day stay for the towel's removal and the quick succession of major surgeries.
Barlow also had surgery to remove a cancerous kidney in 2000
Excuse me, but 41 x 71 cm? Is the American Foundation for the Blind getting equality in surgeons too?
Posted: 2003-10-08 09:44am
by Gandalf
That's pretty fucked, I could get more money than that if someone calls me a wanker.
Posted: 2003-10-08 09:47am
by BoredShirtless
Wanker!
Posted: 2003-10-08 09:59am
by Montcalm
How about the staff around that doc,don`tell me they did`nt see anything...."Yo doc you forgot this inside Mr Jones"
Posted: 2003-10-08 10:08am
by BoredShirtless
Montcalm wrote:How about the staff around that doc,don`tell me they did`nt see anything...."Yo doc you forgot this inside Mr Jones"
Yeah I was thinking about that too. What about the nurse who handed him the towel? Was she blind as well?
Posted: 2003-10-08 10:53am
by Col. Crackpot
Thats a paltry sum compared to the woman who was awarded millions after spilling hot coffee on her lap. But it is a just sum. I can't stand how people seem to think that they are entitled to the equivilant of a lottery jackpot for simple torts. Even this rises to a moderate malpractice. no one died, he gets his medical bills paid, pays his lawer for his work and a little left over to compensate him for pain and suffering. That is how it should always be. If not then every state will end up like West Virginia and having doctors threaten to walk out in the face of ridiculous malpractice insurance costs caused for the most part by greedy lawyers manipulating the injured.
Posted: 2003-10-08 11:10am
by Trytostaydead
BoredShirtless wrote:Montcalm wrote:How about the staff around that doc,don`tell me they did`nt see anything...."Yo doc you forgot this inside Mr Jones"
Yeah I was thinking about that too. What about the nurse who handed him the towel? Was she blind as well?
Well, it's pretty easy to lose track of what's being used in an operating room by the staff. Most of the time, it's only the surgeon who has access to the site of incision and the other staff are hovering around their respective posts, not the patient. But a 41x71 cm towel?? Good God.. this surgeon must've either had a malicious streak or was in some god awful hurry to close up.
Posted: 2003-10-08 10:09pm
by Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi
Funny. You spill coffee on your groin, you become a multi-millionaire. You get a towel stuck in your body, you can't even get half a million. These have to be precise operations, how could they overlook leaving a 41 by 71cm towel in a patient?
Posted: 2003-10-08 11:56pm
by Gandalf
BoredShirtless wrote:Wanker!
You'll be hearing from my lawyer!
*Starts shopping for a mansion to retire in*
Posted: 2003-10-09 01:16am
by Xenophobe3691
Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi wrote:Funny. You spill coffee on your groin, you become a multi-millionaire. You get a towel stuck in your body, you can't even get half a million. These have to be precise operations, how could they overlook leaving a 41 by 71cm towel in a patient?
That coffee suit was the most fucked up bit of Tort law, EVER. However, just because that lady got millions, doesn't mean some guy has to also suck the lifeblood out of the entire medical community just because of some idiot surgeon. I think this settlement entirely fair, the surgeon was at fault, the man needed another operation to remove the towel, and it clearly was gross negligence. I'm sick and fucking tired of seeing doctors crapped on, though.
Posted: 2003-10-09 07:32am
by Chardok
Crapped on? 41X71cm isn't exactly a square of gauze...this was pure idiocy, and IMHO the guy deserves a helluva lot more than 455,000. He won't be bleeding the medical community dry, they have insurance for that. That doctor should have his license revoked and he should be stuck practicing psychology or some equally bullshit profession where little to no harm can be done.
Posted: 2003-10-09 12:35pm
by Xenophobe3691
Chardok wrote:Crapped on? 41X71cm isn't exactly a square of gauze...this was pure idiocy, and IMHO the guy deserves a helluva lot more than 455,000. He won't be bleeding the medical community dry, they have insurance for that. That doctor should have his license revoked and he should be stuck practicing psychology or some equally bullshit profession where little to no harm can be done.
Correct, it was pure idiocy. I never said that this guy shouldn't be tossed out, considering it's damn hard to forget a towel that size inside someone. And about bleeding the medical community dry, please, take a look at insurance rates down here in Florida, and up in West Virginia. Then look at how much doctors make per year. And the prices hike every time there's a huge case, too.
Re: Towel victim cleans up
Posted: 2003-10-09 03:27pm
by Slartibartfast
BoredShirtless wrote:Excuse me, but 41 x 71 cm? Is the American Foundation for the Blind getting equality in surgeons too?
THAT'S A HUGE BITCH!
Posted: 2003-10-09 04:55pm
by EmperorChrostas the Cruel
Allways with the McDonalds Coffee MYTH.
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm
STOP the bullshit!
Do NOT spread this myth further.
http://www.vanfirm.com/mcdonalds-coffee-lawsuit.htm
Million my ASS! Not even a single million!
Posted: 2003-10-09 05:20pm
by The Cleric
How fucking stupid do you have to be? God, that guy should have gotten his liscense as a trophy. And 3 or 4 times that much money.
Posted: 2003-10-09 06:23pm
by Andrew J.
Tort rewards aren't really about paying the victim; they're about punishing whoever screwed up, and the reward should be large enough to make sure they don't do it again. That's why victims of richer people get bigger rewards.
Posted: 2003-10-10 12:09am
by LT.Hit-Man
Col. Crackpot wrote:Thats a paltry sum compared to the woman who was awarded millions after spilling hot coffee on her lap. But it is a just sum. I can't stand how people seem to think that they are entitled to the equivilant of a lottery jackpot for simple torts. Even this rises to a moderate malpractice. no one died, he gets his medical bills paid, pays his lawer for his work and a little left over to compensate him for pain and suffering. That is how it should always be. If not then every state will end up like West Virginia and having doctors threaten to walk out in the face of ridiculous malpractice insurance costs caused for the most part by greedy lawyers manipulating the injured.
Fucking right, it amazing how stupid some people can be and the harm that they do because there such a fuck nut.