Palmetto Richland Hospital and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine have paid $950,000 to a woman after a surgical sponge was in her colon following a surgical procedure and stayed there for more than six months, her attorneys report.
Stephen Swain of Ruloff, Swain, Haddad, Morecock, Talbert & Woodward in Virginia Beach, Virginia reported that Shawn Norling underwent laparoscopic surgery at the hospital in June 2014 for the removal of a cancerous polyp and a small portion of her colon.
Swain
The assisting nurses told the surgeon that they had counted the sponges before the surgery and that the final count after the surgery was correct, but Swain said the nurses failed to follow proper counting procedure.
Following the surgery, Norling complained of fevers, discomfort, and improper drainage of the wound. Over the course of six months, she underwent exploratory procedures before the pad was finally discovered. Surgeons removed the pad, along with 30 inches of her bowel. That forced her to stick to a low glucose diet and take supplements intravenously.
Swain said that that the surgeon was the “captain of the ship” during the surgery and was ultimately responsible for the mishap, and that the delayed diagnosis caused erosion of Norling’s bowel.
Jon Hendrix of Lexington and Jim Gillies of Greenway, Colorado, also represented Norling. Kay Crowe of Barnes, Alford, Stork & Johnson in Columbia and Monty Todd of Robinson Gray in Columbia represented the defendants. Crowe declined to comment.
SETTLEMENT REPORT — MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Amount: $950,000
Injuries alleged: Severe gastrological problems
Case name: Shawn Norling v. University of South Carolina Medical Center, Palmetto Health alliance, et al.
Court: Richland County Circuit Court
Case No.: 2016-CP-40-07435
Date of settlement: May 2019
Special damages: $36,000 (loss of consortium)
Most helpful experts: Dr. Andrew Wolf of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina (gastrology); Dr. Nazema Siddiqui of Duke University Medical Center (reconstructive surgery); Dr. Daryl Fanney of Virginia Beach, Virginia (radiology); and Susan Riddick-Grisham of Richmond, Virginia (life care planning)
Attorneys for plaintiff: Stephen Swain of Ruloff, Swain, Haddad, Morecock, Talbert & Woodward in Virginia Beach, Virginia; Jon Hendrix of Hendrix & Steigner in Lexington; and Jim Gillies of Greenway, Colorado
Attorneys for defendants: Kay Crowe of Barnes, Alford, Stork & Johnson in Columbia and Monty Todd of Robinson Gray in Columbia