Texas parents sue doctor, hospital for $500K after 4-year-old given vasectomy during hernia surgery
After a four-year-old boy was unintentionally given a vasectomy during a procedure to cure a groin hernia, an American family is suing Texas Children's Hospital. According to court documents obtained by ABC13, Dr Susan Jarosz sliced the boy's vas deferens, the conduit that transports sperm from the testes, while attempting to repair the hernia. The surgery, conducted at the Texas Children's Hospital, was scheduled for August 4, 2021.
The parents were informed about the mistake by the surgeon and risk management personnel at Texas Children's Hospital, as well as the prospective short and long-term ramifications for the kid. The medical mistake could make the boy infertile. Dr Jarosz and Texas Children's Hospital are now being sued for $500,000 in damages, which is the greatest amount of money a party may be awarded in such an incident.
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According to News Observer, the lawsuit that was filed in Harris District Court on June 7 reads, “[The child] once he’s old enough to know about what happened and can process and accept it for himself, will be required to have this conversation with any future serious partners. There is a possibility that he may have to utilize assisted reproduction services to conceive. These are all considerations that the typical four-year-old does not have."
The family's lawyer, Randy Sorrels, said on Fox News that the physician did not follow conventional protocol. He said, "The standard procedure is to properly identify the anatomy, and then you cut. I think the surgeon failed to properly identify the anatomy before cutting. I've seen this mistake happen in different cases, but never a surgeon who cuts the vas deferens of a four-year-old. That's very rare, but it's pretty simple. You properly identify the anatomy before you cut it."
The family is concerned that the unintentional snip will have a significant influence on the youngster and any future relationships, therefore they have chosen to remain nameless. Sorrels added, "The worst long-term effect is the impact on the four-year-old's reproductive process that will require him to go through artificial reproductive procedures. I don't think it'll be an impossibility to have children, but it could make it more difficult." A spokesperson with the Texas Children's Hospital said its 'top priority is the health and well-being of our patients'. "Due to patient privacy requirements, we are unable to comment," a spokesperson told ABC13.