Family Sues Over Screwdriver Placed In Patient's Back
Patient, 71, Died Paralyzed
POSTED: 5:37 pm HST July 15, 2003
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HONOLULU -- A former Hilo surgeon is being sued for allegedly implanting a screwdriver in a patient's spine during an operation.The lawsuit alleges that parts of a stainless steel screwdriver ended up in the spine of Arturo Iturralde, 71. Hilo doctor Robert Ricketson operated on Iturralde in an elective surgery to stabilize a disk injury in his back.
The lawsuit said Ricketson used the screwdriver when the titanium rod he needed was not available in the operating room."He elected to try to jerry rig a rod out of the shaft of a screwdriver he found in the operating room," attorney Mark Davis said. "He implanted it in the back of my client and, ultimately, it fractured two days after the surgery."Then after three more surgeries, Iturralde was left a bedridden, incontinent paraplegic. He died from complications from the surgeries last month.
Iturralede's family didn't find out about the screwdriver until a week after it broke in half in his back."This whole incident came to light by virtue of the fact that a nurse who was shocked and outraged by what had occurred found the screwdriver and informed the family what had occurred," Davis said.At the time of the operation, the lawsuit alleges, Ricketson suffered from drug addiction and incompetence, had been sued by patients in Oklahoma and Texas and was on probation in Hawaii for improper conduct.
"Despite this rather extraordinary record of incompetence, dishonesty and criminal behavior, he was granted privileges at the Hilo Hospital, hired by a Big Island orthopedic group. He was unleashed on the public," Davis said.Hawaii Orthopedics and Hilo Hospital are also accused of negligence in the suit. Ricketson has moved to Kansas and could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit said Ricketson used the screwdriver when the titanium rod he needed was not available in the operating room."He elected to try to jerry rig a rod out of the shaft of a screwdriver he found in the operating room," attorney Mark Davis said. "He implanted it in the back of my client and, ultimately, it fractured two days after the surgery."Then after three more surgeries, Iturralde was left a bedridden, incontinent paraplegic. He died from complications from the surgeries last month. | Video |
VIDEO REPORT"Despite this rather extraordinary record of incompetence, dishonesty and criminal behavior, he was granted privileges at the Hilo Hospital, hired by a Big Island orthopedic group. He was unleashed on the public," Davis said.Hawaii Orthopedics and Hilo Hospital are also accused of negligence in the suit. Ricketson has moved to Kansas and could not be reached for comment.Copyright 2007 by TheHawaiiChannel.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
