An orthopedic surgeon in Massachusetts agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a wrong-site surgery malpractice suit brought by a 55-year-old woman on whom he had performed wrong-ankle surgery.
The botched procedure was a tendon transfer to treat recurring pain in the woman's right ankle caused by inflammation of her posterior tendon, according to court documents. The documents indicate that the case was located in Suffolk County, Mass, but both the plaintiff's and defendant's names are kept anonymous.
The defendant orthopedic surgeon performed the surgery on the woman's left ankle instead of the right, even though the right side had been marked. When the mistake was discovered after surgery, the woman elected to have physical therapy instead of surgery to treat her right-ankle pain. The defendant surgeon continued to provide her post-operative care.
In the lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of Massachusetts, the woman claimed that the doctor was negligent in performing surgery on the wrong ankle, which required her to use a walking boot for 5 weeks, have surgical hardware removed and undergo physical therapy and 10 months of rehabilitation. She also alleged that her preexisting ulcerative colitis got worse because of the medications she had to take for the surgery.
According to a court report, the surgeon disputed the extent of the woman's damages but agreed to pay $500,000 to settle her claims in December 2009.
Irene Tsikitas
