Friday, May 30, 2008

Liver transplant patient set alight during surgery sues doctors and hospital

From the Canadian Press:

VANCOUVER — A Vernon, B.C., man is suing his doctors, Vancouver General Hospital and the local health authority after a heart-stopping liver transplant during which he was set aflame.

During the transplant surgery in February 2006, Robbin Reeves's heart stopped and doctors performed an open cardiac massage.

Reeves's lawsuit claims doctors tore one of the chambers of his heart and, in the rush to prepare for the emergency surgery, alcohol on his neck and shoulder caught fire, leaving him with serious burns.

Six months after the surgery doctors removed a broken sternal wire from his chest and then, in July 2006, he found out the first liver transplant failed and he had another transplant surgery last year.

Reeves's B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit claims the defendants failed to meet a reasonable standard of care and he's claiming unspecified damages for negligence and costs.

No statement of defense has yet been filed.

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