The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

The Rhode Island Department of Health has initiated an investigation into an incident at Rhode Island Hospital on August 4^th when one of the hospital's doctors left a piece of drill bit inside a patient's body following an operation.

The surgical error was discovered two days after the procedure during a post-operative diagnostic imaging. The drill bit piece was removed as soon as it was discovered. The hospital suspended the operating doctor as well as all staff assisting with the procedure.

Hospital officials have not released the names of the medical professionals involved; however, they insist that the appropriate disciplinary measures were administered.

Rhode Island Hospital has been under investigation by the Rhode Island Department of Health in the past for other medical malpractice violations. In 2009, a doctor at Rhode Island Hospital operated on the wrong finger of a patient, resulting in a $150,000 fine for the hospital. That incident was the fifth wrong-site surgery recorded at the hospital since January 2007.

As part of the consequences meted out in that incident, Rhode Island Hospital was required to install cameras in their operating rooms and to retrain surgical staff.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of a surgical error, please contact the medical malpractice attorneys at The Cochran Firm today to schedule your initial consultation. We serve clients nationwide.