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Nurse loses kidney, Ohio hospital agrees to $650,000 settlement

On Behalf of | Jun 10, 2014 | Medical Malpractice |

A young Ohio woman who was expecting to receive a kidney from her brother in 2012 had her hopes dashed when a nurse mistakenly threw the kidney away. The kidney would have been a perfect match for the 26-year-old woman, who has since received a kidney transplant that is not as suitable and will likely not last as long as the one she was supposed to have received from her brother.

In addition, it may be more difficult for her to find a replacement in the future when the current transplant fails, according to a news report.

The woman and her family were awarded $650,000 in a medical malpractice settlement with the hospital. The brother and sister will each receive $250,000 and the remainder will go to their parents. Because the operation had been performed in a public hospital, a strict economic cap had been placed on the amount each of the plaintiffs could receive.

The negligence will have long-lasting consequences for the brother and sister. They both were required to endure painful operations, and the brother’s turned out to be all for naught.

The plaintiffs claim to be disappointed that because of the public hospital liability cap they could not recover more, considering this was a clear case of hospital negligence. For its part, the hospital has apologized for the incident and maintains that it has been a learning process and that it will help to improve patient safety.  In the meantime, though, two people have suffered unnecessary health risks because of one medical mistake.

Source: Norwalk Reflector, “Family gets $650,000 in botched kidney case,” Ignazio Messina, June 1, 2014

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