The lawsuit, filed in the Seville Courts, states that the patient was diagnosed with colon adenocarcinoma in July 2024. Diagnostic tests, including a colonoscopy and CT scan, pinpointed the lesion in the descending colon.
However, during the initial surgical procedure, medical staff marked the endoscopic tattoo in a different area, the transverse colon. Based on this marking and without verifying the discrepancy, a hemicolectomy was performed on the wrong section, meaning the cancer was not removed.
This situation necessitated a second major surgery weeks later to remove the tumor from its correct location. Following this second operation, the patient suffered severe postoperative complications, including septic shock, requiring a third emergency intervention and admission to the ICU. The man ultimately passed away on September 6, 2024.
The performance of a second major surgery significantly increased the cumulative surgical risk to which the patient was subjected, establishing an indirect causal link between the detected errors in the care process and the final outcome.
The lawsuit, supported by a medical expert report from specialist lawyer Pedro Arnaiz, concludes that the care sequence did not fully adhere to the 'lex artis'. It argues that the second surgery could have been avoided if the tumor's location had been correctly verified during the first intervention.
The legal action is directed against the hospital's insurance company, responsible for the care provided by professionals and centers within its network for Muface members. After unsuccessful attempts at out-of-court settlements and mediation, a court will now determine if there was a breach of medical best practices and if it contributed to the patient's death.
