Man gets damages after botched surgery

2012-12-11 08:40

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Pretoria - A man has won his legal battle against the health department and a doctor at a state hospital after a needle was left in his stomach during an operation.

André Potgieter was treated for a stab wound in the Mokopane hospital in 2008, reported Beeld.

He sought medical help after the wound became septic and wouldn’t heal.

Potgieter was admitted to hospital and Dr AJ Mahmood performed an emergency operation. However, after surgery the infection spread through Potgieter’s body and caused paralysis to his right shoulder and arm.

An abscess developed in the operation wound, which then burst open and Potgieter saw a “shiny object” in the abscess. A general practitioner saw the needle of about 7-8cm in the wound. Two additional abscesses also had to be removed at a later stage.

Judge Hans Fabricius ruled the doctor and the hospital had to pay for Potgieter’s damages, and also ordered them to pay his legal costs.