Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed against Texas Doctor Who Mistakenly Removed Woman’s Ovaries

Finding out that you need surgery to correct a medical problem can be a stressful yet also hopeful experience. Getting a diagnosis and answers about your health can be a relief. Unfortunately, the feelings of relief and confidence about improving health can quickly diminish if a medical mistake occurs. That is exactly what one Texas woman describes as she details the events leading up to her filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against her trusted surgeon.

Read on to learn more about this medical malpractice lawsuit. As always, if you have questions about a medical outcome and your legal rights, contact the medical malpractice attorney at MedMalFirm.com to learn more.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed after Medical Mistake

Claudia Bond felt relief as she prepared to undergo a hysterectomy 2015. She says that she thought she was in good hands. She would undergo a vaginal hysterectomy to correct a “massive bleeding problem.” The surgeon would remove her uterus but leave the fallopian tubes and ovaries intact and in place. The surgeon would also perform a bladder repair procedure.

Bond was a patient at Conroe Regional Medical Center after surgery. She recalls a nurse bringing her an estrogen tablet. She asked the nurse why she would need hormones since her ovaries were intact. Bond then questioned her doctor, who assured her that her ovaries were in place. According to court documents, the doctor stated,

“No, no, no. You have your ovaries. They were normal. They are fine. Everything is good.”

Bond went home to recover from her surgery, and recalls feeling like she was a 60-year-old woman in her 44-year-old body. Six weeks after her surgery she went back to her doctor for a post-operative checkup. At the appointment, she says the doctor fell back in his chair and turned “white as a ghost.” When she asked him if he was okay, the doctor told her that he would have to apologize to her because she did not still have her ovaries.

Reasonably, Bond was incredibly upset and shocked by this admission. She filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Health Services. She also filed a lawsuit against the doctor, Conroe Regional Medical Center and Conroe Women’s Associates. In addition to this traumatic ordeal, Bond now suffers from acute estrogen deficiency syndrome. She says that her life is destroyed by this medical mistake – a mistake she believes could have been avoided had hospital administrators responded to red flags.

Lawsuit Alleges that Attention to Red Flags Could Have Prevented Medical Mistake

In the medical malpractice lawsuit that Bond filed, all defendants have denied any legal responsibility for the medical mistake. However, a series of red flags may have been the key to preventing this mistake from occurring. According to court documents, six weeks before Bond’s surgery, the surgeon told Conroe Regional Medical Center’s CEO that he was being evaluated for Parkinson’s disease. He also admitted that his memory failed him at times.

During a six-hour deposition, the surgeon admitted that he made a mistake in removing Bond’s ovaries and fallopian tubes. He attributed the error to developing Parkinson’s disease and a failed memory. Conroe Regional Medical Center says that they took proper steps to ensure that the surgeon was capable. They say that he was “medically cleared to continue taking care of patients.”

The Texas Department of Health Services, however, has flagged the hospital for violating its own policies and breaking laws. The hospital reportedly did not conduct a peer review of the surgery. The hospital continues to take no responsibility for the medical mistake or the trauma that Bond continues to endure.

Bond believes that hospital administrators should have done more to address the surgeon’s possibly failing health and memory. She believes that the medical mistake and resulting medical malpractice lawsuit could all have been avoided.

How Common are Surgical Errors?

Research estimates that as many as one in every 100,000 surgeries involves some type of error. That may seem like good odds until you consider that nearly 50 million surgeries are performed each year in the United States.

In our article, “New Report Says Surgery is the Second Most Common Cause for Medical Malpractice Claims” we discuss the results of a recent report from medical liability insurer, Coverys. In this report, Coverys found that 25 percent of medical malpractice claims from 2014 to 2018 related to surgery.

What is most alarming about the Coverys report is that 78 percent of surgery-related medical malpractice claims involve the improper or inadequate performance of the surgeon. These claims include factors like:

Lack of technical skill
Failure to communicate
Failure in judgment
Leaving a foreign object inside the patient
Performing an unnecessary procedure
Performing surgery on the wrong patient or body part
Delaying surgery

Each of these are alarming examples of negligence. Surgeons must adhere to the medical standards of care. When their care deviates from these standards, they risk the lives of their patients.

Have Questions about a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

If you or someone you love have suffered a poor medical outcome, you may be wondering if you qualify to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. It is important to realize that not every poor outcome is the result of negligence. Sometimes medical conditions or complications develop despite the best efforts of healthcare providers.

If you have questions about a medical outcome or whether your situation constitutes medical malpractice, contact MedMalFirm.com. Our Houston medical malpractice attorney will review your case and offer advice about the best course of action for you and your situation. If we believe you do have an actionable claim, we will offer you guidance on the best way to proceed toward a medical malpractice lawsuit.

We offer a free consultation to every potential client, so you have nothing to lose by contacting us. To get started, call us at 877-887-4850, or you can also email us via our online contact form.

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Written By Meagan Cline

Meagan Cline is a professional legal researcher and writer. She works alongside the team at MedMalFirm.com to provide readers with up-to-date information relevant to the healthcare and legal industries.