After $3 million medical malpractice verdict, more complaints open against NGHS doctor
According to the 2020 complaint, a woman went in March 2018 for surgery performed by Green to remove a pelvic mass.
During the surgery, Green allegedly perforated the woman’s bowel and documented it in the medical records, according to the complaint.
In a filed response to the lawsuit, Green and the hospital denied the allegation “to the extent they allege any negligence against these defendants.”
“In further response, (the) defendants state that the allegations contained in (the paragraph) are incomplete and out of context,” according to the response to the suit. “The medical records of (the woman) and the recollections of the health care professionals involved in her care are the best and most comprehensive evidence as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph. Therefore, the allegations are denied to the extent they contradict the same.”
The woman was admitted to the hospital after surgery and had an emergency exploratory surgery three days later “because of acute sepsis and green drainage from her midline incision caused by the known bowel perforation … Green failed to repair,” according to the lawsuit.
“Because of the severe abdominal infection and acute sepsis and septic shock, (another doctor) had to leave (the woman’s) abdomen open, and she was transferred to the intensive care unit … (and) a ventilator was necessary to keep (the woman) alive and breathing in the ICU,” according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, the medical bills between March and July 2018 totaled $650,000.
Lewis said his client “had a long recovery period and suffers severe emotional problems from the complications.
The settlements
According to the Georgia Composite Medical Board licensee records, there was an $800,000 medical malpractice settlement for Green in September 2019. NGHS officials said they could not comment on the settlement listed with the medical board.
No further details are offered on the medical board’s records on the settlement.
Another case filed in May 2019 was settled in December that year concerning a woman who was having her cervix removed by Green in May 2017. According to the complaint, Green noted the small bowel was damaged and he had to “throw a stitch” to repair it. The medical records also noted that the colon was “air pressure tested” at the end of surgery, which the complaint alleges and the hospital admitted in its original response. The woman was released on May 26, 2017, and her husband called Northeast Georgia Physicians Group the following day to report his wife’s severe abdominal pain, according to the complaint.
According to the lawsuit, an unidentified member of Green’s staff told the husband that this was a “normal post-operative symptom.” This was repeated by Green the next day as well when the husband called again about his wife’s fever and severe abdominal pain, according to the lawsuit.
The hospital and Green denied these claims in their filed response.
The woman went to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Braselton by ambulance three days after being released and was noted to be in “life-threatening condition” upon arrival in the emergency room, according to the complaint.
A doctor performed an exploratory surgery causing feces to pour out of the woman’s abdomen, according to the lawsuit. The doctor estimated 2 liters of feces were removed from the woman’s abdomen, and she reportedly suffered severe sepsis with septic shock, according to the lawsuit.
Attorneys for both sides said there was a confidential settlement in the case but did not provide any further information on the case’s disposition.
Lewis said the woman, whose case he learned about through his work in the Mitchell case, is alive but has ongoing “medical and emotional problems.”
“It’s important to point out that settlements are often reached for a variety of reasons when independent third-party reviews have found no evidence of negligence or malpractice,” Boyarshinov said.