Virginia Medical Malpractice Blog - Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C.

Hospital leaves a sponge in a patient

This week I was contacted by another patient who left the hospital with a sponge left inside of her. It is shocking how often this happens. In most cases it is due to the failure of the surgical nurses to count correctly. During surgery, the surgeon often places numerous sponges in the patient. It is the job of the surgical nurses to keep an accurate count of the number of sponges put in the patient and the number of sponges removed. If the count is inaccurate the nurse should notify the surgeon and the surgeon should find the sponge and remove it. Sounds simple, right. Well, we've represented patients who had sponges left in them during child birth, gall bladder surgery, and other procedures. Click here to learn more about a hospital's duties to prevent these serious injuries. Josh Silverman