Surgeon operates on wrong eye of young child

A 4-year-old boy in Washington is recovering after a surgeon, who was to perform corrective surgery on the child's right eye, made a mistake and operated on the child's left eye.

Parents say that the surgeon went on to operate on the correct eye without notifying them that a mistake had been made.

The four-year-old had been frequently visiting a specialist in Oregon after his family discovered he had a wondering right eye. The surgical procedure was supposed to weaken the muscle under the child's right eye because the strength of the muscle was believed to be the cause of the wondering eye.

The surgeon did not realize that she operated on the child's left eye instead of his right eye until after the surgery had been completed.

She claims that the actions of a nurse in the operating room caused her to lose her sense of direction, claiming that a mark indicating which eye required the operation was accidentally covered up during pre-operating preparation.

The family says that on the day of the operation, a nurse came out of the operating room at around the time that the child was scheduled to be in the recovery room. The nurse informed the family that they would be operating on both eyes.

The child's parents say that nurses and hospital staff never informed the family that the medical error had been made and because of that, the family believed that they were attempting to cover up the mistake.

The child has a wondering left eye and still has a wondering right eye following the directions. He has normal vision, but his condition requires daily use of eye drops and sunglasses for protection.

Doctor and hospital errors such as this that result in injury are a form of medical malpractice. If you believe that you or a family member have been a victim of medical malpractice, contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates. Call us toll-free at 1-800-541-9376 for your free consultation, or click here to visit our website for more information.