CHARLESTON — A woman says Charleston Area Medical Center caused her to suffer a vocal cord injury due to negligence.
West Virginia University Board of Governors and Todd Witsberger were also named as defendants in the suit.
Witsberger performed a left cervical lymph node biopsy on Regina Lilly on July 1, 2020, and Lilly suffered permanent injuries, including a vocal cord injury, because Witsberger negligently failed to remove a lesion in her neck, according to a complaint filed July 15 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Lilly claims the defendants violated the West Virginia Medical Professional Liability Act. She claims she began seeing Witsberger as a paying patient for a fee beginning on July 1, 2020, and he was negligent for her injuries, as well as the hospital and the WVU Board of Governors.
"The Defendants...acted negligently, carelessly, willfully and wantonly and/or with a reckless disregard of risk of harm and in deviation from the applicable standards of medical care in the care and treatment rendered to Regina Lilly, such negligence, carelessness, willfulness, recklessness and/or wantonness and deviation from the applicable standards of medical care being a proximate cause of the permanent injuries to Regina Lilly on July 1, 2020," the complaint states.
The defendants failed to remove a lesion in Lilly's neck, which left her with a permanent disability, according to the suit.
Lilly claims she sustained pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life as a result of the defendants' negligence. She claims the defendants' actions were in reckless disregard to harm and were willful, wanton and wreckless.
Lilly is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. She is represented by Dr. Richard D. Lindsay and Richard D. Lindsay of Tabor Lindsay & Associates in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 22-C-591