While doctors and surgeons have high training and take great care to avoid mistakes, they’re not infallible. (iStock)
A Pennsylvania jury has awarded a man $870,000 after his doctor removed the wrong testicle during a botched 2013 surgery.
Steven Hanes, 54, had suffered from chronic pain in his right testicle for years, Fox 43 reported. He sought treatment from Dr. V. Spencer Long, who recommended surgical removal after an ultrasound revealed scarring from a previous injury. However, at some point during the procedure Long removed the wrong testicle.
WOMAN WRONGLY DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER HAD UNNECESSARY MASTECTOMY, SUIT CLAIMS
“At this point it appeared that the left testicle and cord may actually have been removed instead of the right one,” Long wrote in the postoperative report, according to the Hamilton Spectator.
A jury later found that Long was “recklessly indifferent” in the treatment of his patient and awarded Hanes $620,000 in compensatory and $250,000 in punitive damages, Fox 43 reported.
MOM WITH RARE BLOOD DISORDER ADOPTS 3 KIDS WITH SAME CONDITION
“The doctor gave an explanation that really made no anatomical or medical sense,” Braden Lepisto, Hanes’ attorney, told the Hamilton Spectator.
Lepisto said Hanes has not sought further treatment after the procedure left him with a “debilitating fear.”