Liability for retained sponges and instruments

Doctors tend to use the word "retained" to describe objects inadvertently left behind inside the bodies of patients, often in their abdominal cavities, after surgery. Attorneys at RisCassi and Davis, P.C., have handled many cases involving sponges, pads, towels and/or medical instrumentation mistakenly left behind by the surgical team. These foreign objects can cause great harm to the patients, including infection or sepsis.

A recurring issue in these cases is the legal responsibility of the surgeon, often a private physician, as opposed to the nursing staff, often employed by a hospital. The surgeon is generally in charge of the surgical procedure, but often delegates to staff the requirement to count sponges, to make sure that all are properly accounted for before the surgery is concluded and the patient closed up.