catlover79
03-19-2010, 11:35 PM
http://www.kvue.com/news/state/Court-Woman-cant-sue-doctors-who-left-sponge-inside-of-her-88566562.html
by CHRIS SADEGHI / KENS.com
Posted on March 19, 2010 at 11:44 AM
Updated today at 11:44 AM
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SAN ANTONIO -- Emmalene Rankin remembers the exact dates of her pains, her surgeries, and how long it took to recuperate. And she still remembers her shock when the doctor came back with the X-rays taken in July 2006.
“He said, ‘Mrs. Rankin, you have a sponge in you,’ and I said, ‘You have to be kidding,’” Rankin recalled.
The surgical sponge was left inside Rankin’s body after a hysterectomy in 1995 and became the root of abdominal pain and possibly other infections in the years before it was discovered.
However, under Texas statute, lawsuits cannot be filed for injuries and medical errors more than 10 years old.
Rankin’s surgery to remove the sponge was performed 10 years and eight months after the mistake.
“It is not fair. That is the worst surgery I had to recuperate from in my life,” Rankin said.
Her attorney, Carl Robin Teague, believes although the statute has a clear time limit, it was designed for circumstances when someone knows they have been injured.
That does not apply to Rankin.
“We think it is unfair a person is unable to make a recovery under these circumstances.” Teague said.
But last week, the Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously to uphold the statute, which leaves the 75-year-old Rankin paying for the mistake physically and financially.
Rankin and Teague say they will file a motion for rehearing, but are not optimistic it will change the court’s mind.
by CHRIS SADEGHI / KENS.com
Posted on March 19, 2010 at 11:44 AM
Updated today at 11:44 AM
******
SAN ANTONIO -- Emmalene Rankin remembers the exact dates of her pains, her surgeries, and how long it took to recuperate. And she still remembers her shock when the doctor came back with the X-rays taken in July 2006.
“He said, ‘Mrs. Rankin, you have a sponge in you,’ and I said, ‘You have to be kidding,’” Rankin recalled.
The surgical sponge was left inside Rankin’s body after a hysterectomy in 1995 and became the root of abdominal pain and possibly other infections in the years before it was discovered.
However, under Texas statute, lawsuits cannot be filed for injuries and medical errors more than 10 years old.
Rankin’s surgery to remove the sponge was performed 10 years and eight months after the mistake.
“It is not fair. That is the worst surgery I had to recuperate from in my life,” Rankin said.
Her attorney, Carl Robin Teague, believes although the statute has a clear time limit, it was designed for circumstances when someone knows they have been injured.
That does not apply to Rankin.
“We think it is unfair a person is unable to make a recovery under these circumstances.” Teague said.
But last week, the Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously to uphold the statute, which leaves the 75-year-old Rankin paying for the mistake physically and financially.
Rankin and Teague say they will file a motion for rehearing, but are not optimistic it will change the court’s mind.