Medical Malpractice encompasses many types of mistakes that doctors, dentists, nurses, and other medical workers commonly commit. Of those, patient mix-ups often top the list. To prevent this, hospitals and healthcare facilities use identification bracelets and should ask patients to identify themselves before treatment or surgery.
In Tennessee, unfortunately, it sounds as if these procedures where either not in place or disregarded by a doctor and his staff at The University Medical Center in Lebanon, Tennessee where a tiny infant named Nate Melton was operated on by mistake. Nate’s mother, Jennifer, had taken little Nate in to the medical center for a routine check-up. She reports that he was perfectly fine and nursing well before the visit. Nate was taken to a nursery, where a doctor mistakenly requested that he be brought in for a frenectomy. A frenectomy is procedure where the flap of skin under the tongue is trimmed to give the tongue more mobility and to prevent the child from being “tongue-tied”.
After realizing the mistake, the doctor offered the only explanation he could. He had simply requested the wrong baby and that he was sorry. In medicine, this is considered to be a “never event”. In other words, this event should never have happened because it is a preventable mistake. But unfortunately, “never events” do happen in medicine and that is why over 700 people die a day due to medical errors.
Hopefully, young Nate will not suffer further complications from the unnecessary surgery such as speech impairment, trouble with swallowing, or problems with nursing. At this time, doctors have said that it is hard to tell what problems might develop for the infant in the future.
If you or a family member has been harmed due to medical malpractice, call The Thomson Law Firm today for a free consultation. Call my office today at (540) 777-4900 or toll free at (877) 471-3353
