Botched hernia surgery puts Texas man in financial ruin

Many medical malpractice cases here in the Houston area stem from a surgical error during an operation. One Texas man who had hernia surgery in 2010 recently filed a lawsuit after the operation ultimately resulted in the loss of a testicle and several inches of intestine, in addition to leaving him in financial ruin.
According to the man’s claim, his surgeon made a number of vital mistakes during the procedure. The lawsuit states that the doctor did not anesthetize the patient properly; that the one-hour procedure went on for eight hours; and that during surgery the doctor severed the patient’s colon and tied it off incorrectly.
Several days after the hernia surgery, the man reportedly was in a great deal of pain and went into an emergency room. It was there that doctors found he had suffered a life-threatening condition caused by fecal matter spilling into his lower abdomen. They performed a second, reparative, operation.
Due to the complications that followed the original surgery, the man, who was uninsured, was not able to work for a significant period of time following the operation, which ultimately cost his family their home.
Although the doctor in this case has been licensed to practice medicine in Texas since 1996, it is interesting to note that he reportedly failed the physician’s general knowledge test twice, resulting in a license suspension in 2004.
When Texas residents sustain a catastrophic injury at the hands of a negligent medical provider, it is important that they have an advocate to hold the medical provider accountable and fight for the compensation victims deserve.
Source: Huffington Post, “Pedro Hermenegildo, Uninsured Texas Man, Claims Doctor Botched Hernia Surgery,” Alexander Eichler, July 6, 2012