CHARLESTON – A Charleston man has filed a medical malpractice suit against an ophthalmologist after an apparent case of mistaken identity led to him receiving the wrong lens implant.
William Carpenter filed his complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Dr. Joseph Sinclair and West Virginia Eye Consultants LLC. The defendants deny the allegations.
According to his complaint, Carpenter had a cataract evaluation with Sinclair. A biometric measurement was taken for ensuing intraocular lens implantation surgeries.
“On the same date in which plaintiff underwent the cataract evaluation by Dr. Sinclair at WV Eye Consultants, another patient with the same last name as plaintiff underwent a cataract evaluation in which this patient’s biometric measurements were taken,” the complaint states.
A few weeks later, the plaintiff had his surgery to remove the cataract and replace the lens at St. Francis Hospital. Carpenter says his vision in his left eye was significantly worse than prior to surgery.
“The intraocular lens in which Dr. Sinclair implanted into Mr. Carpenter’s left eye was the incorrect optical power,” the complaint states. “(The) implant was based upon the other patient’s biometric measurement that was also evaluated by Dr. Sinclair and/or WV Eye Consultants.”
The same thing happened for the plaintiff’s right eye when those surgeries were done a few weeks later.
Carpenter says his vision never improved following the surgeries.
“Everything was blurry to him, and his uncorrected vision was substantially worse than prior to these surgeries performed by Dr. Sinclair,” the complaint states.
Carpenter had a follow-up with Sinclair two months later.
“During this appointment, Dr. Sinclair advised Mr. Carpenter that he had implanted the wrong intraocular lenses into Mr. Carpenter’s eyes,” the complaint states. “Sinclair admitted to implanting intraocular lenses that belonged to a patient with the same last name as plaintiff.”
Sinclair then performed two more surgeries to implant the proper lenses into Carpenter’s eyes.
Carpenter accuses the defendants of negligence, breaching the standard of care, subjecting him to an unreasonable risk of harm and additional major surgeries. He says he has suffered permanent damages to his eyes, has incurred medical bills for his care and treatment, suffered enormous pain and suffering as well as mental and emotional distress, suffered a loss of enjoyment of life and incurred lost wages.
He seeks compensatory damages as well as pre- and post-judgment interest and other relief.
In their answer to the complaint, the defendants deny the allegations and seek to have the case dismissed.
Carpenter is being represented by Eric J. Buckner of Katz, Kantor, Stonestreet & Buckner PLLC in Princeton. The defendants are being represented by Karen Tracy McElhinny of Shuman McCuskey Slicer PLLC in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 20-C-541