A mother who has been suffering from back pains for the past 14 years after giving birth discovered that a broken epidural needle was stuck in her spine.
The woman is now planning to file a lawsuit against the hospital where she gave birth, for what is the latest horrible case of medical malpractice.
Broken Epidural Needle Found In Mother's Spine
Amy Bright, a 41-year-old mother from Florida, gave birth Jacob, her sixth and youngest son, at Naval Hospital Jacksonville in September 2003. The baby was delivered through a C-section, and the family thought that everything was fine.
However, just a couple of months later, Amy started to experience severe back pain.
"It feels like fire, like a poker next to my tailbone. On occasion, it shoots down the left side of my leg on my calf, and then down and into my foot," said Amy to describe the pain.
It was not until last year that Amy found out what was causing her suffering. A CT scan taken in the fall of 2017 revealed that an inch-long portion of an epidural needle was stuck in her spine. The needle allegedly broke off when doctors from the Naval Hospital Jacksonville decided to give her an epidural over 14 years ago.
Amy and her lawyer, Sean Cronin, claimed that the hospital knew about the broken epidural needle but decided not to inform her about it.
"It's documented in her medical records that they had an unsuccessful spinal needle attempt at Naval Hospital Jacksonville in September of 2003," Cronin said.
The needle has now caused extensive nerve damage to Amy, who now has limited usage of her left leg and foot. The damage would have been avoided if the broken epidural needle was removed right away.
Removing the needle now may leave Amy permanently paralyzed. However, the same consequence will likely happen if the needle stays in her spine, placing her in a perilous situation.
Amy, who will now have to rely on physical therapy and pain medication to manage the nerve damage for the rest of her life, has accused the hospital of fraud and medical malpractice. With Cronin, she will file a lawsuit against Naval Hospital Jacksonville in the coming months.
Medical Malpractice Cases
Amy's case of a broken epidural needle lodged in her spine is, unfortunately, not the only recent horrible case of medical malpractice.
In January, an army veteran filed a lawsuit against a Veteran Affairs hospital in West Haven, Connecticut, after it was discovered that a scalpel had been left inside his abdomen for four years after a surgical procedure.
In February, a Japanese woman went through a similar ordeal, after doctors found surgical sponges left inside her body for at least six years.
Earlier this month, there were also reports that a neurosurgeon in Nairobi cut open the skull and performed brain surgery on the wrong patient.
