Medical Malpractice Suit Filed Against Memorial Hospital of Bellville

Attorney David Cates of the Cates Law Firm is representing a former patient of Memorial Hospital of Belleville, alleging that one of its surgeons acted with negligence and carelessness after leaving a medical pad inside of her abdomen during a 2018 procedure.

The plaintiff arrived at the hospital in 2018 to deliver her child and have a bilateral salpingectomy. According to the physician’s notes, the surgery was performed successfully. The plaintiff returned to the hospital a just over six months later for another procedure performed in the same part of her body, performed by the same surgeon, which was also completed without any noted complications.

The plaintiff experienced pain after both surgeries, but did not consult with her doctor because she thought it was normal and expected following the procedures. In June of 2020, an ultrasound that showed she had gallbladder disease and a subsequent CT scan showed that she had a “foreign body mass” in her body. The next month, she underwent surgery to remove this mass. At that time, the surgeon discovered that a laparotomy pad had been left inside her body during one of her previous operations.

The lawsuit citing negligence and carelessness against the first surgeon was filed by the plaintiff and her husband in St. Clair County Circuit Court. Protestant Memorial Medical Center, Inc. and Heartland Women’s Healthcare doing business as Memorial Hospital of Belleville, and St. Elizabeth’s Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis doing business as St. Elizabeth’s Hospital are the defendants being held accountable by the team at the Cates Law Firm on behalf of the plaintiff.

The lawsuit alleges that the injury caused the plaintiff significant pain and suffering, which affected her ability to have a normal life and impaired her capacity to earn income. The patient’s husband alleges that the incident deprived him of his wife’s companionship and consortium. The couple seeks damages of an amount exceeding $50,000, as well as court costs.

The Belleville Medical Malpractice Attorneys at the Cates Law Firm Represent Patients in Medical Negligence Cases

When physicians and medical organizations are negligent, patients and their families can experience significant pain, suffering, and even death. For a free consultation on any kind of medical malpractice case, contact the experienced, compassionate Bellville medical malpractice attorneys at the Cates Law Firm. Call our Swansea, Illinois offices at 618-277-3644 or complete our online form. We help clients in Belleville, Carbondale, East St. Louis, Granite City, Edwardsville, Chester, Waterloo, St. Louis, Madison County, St. Clair County, Monroe County, and Randolph County.