MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Doctor not to blame for unremoved sponge in surgery
On May 20, a jury found a surgeon wasn’t to blame for a sponge that was left inside a patient after undergoing back surgery. In 2007, Tisha Meabon underwent a right L5-S1 partial laminectomy and diskectomy that was performed by Dr. David E. Tomasek at First Street Hospital in Houston. Nurses reported twice that the sponge count was correct. However, a surgical sponge was left inside. Meabon claimed she was in pain for six months until she underwent surgery to remove the sponge. On behalf of the nurses, the hospital settled before trial. Tomasek claimed he wasn’t to blame for the sponge. He also argued that looking for the sponge during the initial operation would have risked serious injury.
