CHARLESTON – A Raleigh County woman blames a Charleston gynecologist for severing her ureter during a hysterectomy and the medical issues that followed.
Andrea Dawn Mullins and her husband Jeffrey Mullins filed their complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Dr. Michael Lao, Premier Women’s Health Specialists PLLC and Charleston Area Medical Center.
According to the complaint, Mullins says she had a total laparoscopic abdominal hysterectomy at CAMC performed by Lao on October 30, 2018. In his surgery procedure dictation, Lao states there was difficulty with visualization of the pelvic anatomy during the surgery.
Mullins was discharged after the surgery and went home. Two days later, she says she was suffering an extreme amount of pain. They called an on-call physician and was told the pain, blood and opaque liquid excretion she was experience was normal.
The following day, she called an ambulance to transport her to CAMC. Tests showed her ureter had been severed during the hysterectomy. She had emergency urethroplasty surgery, and a ureteral stent was put in place for more than a month.
Mullins says she continues to have health problems as a result of the surgeries, including constant urinary tract infections and significant bladder spasms. She says medical professionals expect a myriad of future kidney complications.
She accuses Lao of negligence, and she accuses CAMC and Premier Women’s Health Specialists of vicarious liability.
Mullins seeks compensatory damages for her physical injuries, her pain and suffering, her mental anguish and emotional distress, her past and future medical expenses, her lost wages as well as her diminished capacity to enjoy life. Her husband seeks damages for loss of consortium. They also seek punitive damages, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Robert Dunlap II and Morgan Spolarich of Robert Dunlap and Associates in Beckley. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 20-C-1005