$1.5 Settlement Against Hospital For Nursing Catheter Intubation Error

A hospital patient suffering from long standing ulcerative colitis was recovering from a successfully performed surgical procedure called a Barrett Continent Intestinal Reservoir (BCIR). One evening the patient requested assistance transferring from her hospital bed to the bedside commode. When transferring back from the bedside commode to the hospital bed a drainage catheter which had been inserted into the pouch fell out. One of the nurses assisting the patient in the transfer then negligently reinserted the catheter and in the process perforated the newly created internal pouch in two places. As a result of the perforations, the patient had to undergo multiple surgical procedures to repair the perforations and subsequently developed a series of abdominal abscesses and abdominal fistulas which could not be healed. A medical negligence action was filed by the patient and her spouse against the hospital employing the nurse. The case settled for $1,500,000.