HUNTINGTON – A Cabell County woman says she required additional medical care and surgeries because of a product that was either defective or used improperly in her initial operation.
Sherri Ross filed her complaint August 21 in Cabell Circuit Court against Cabell Huntington Hospital Inc., the Marshall University Board of Governors and University Physicians & Surgeons Inc.
According to the complaint, Ross was admitted to CHH on May 17, 2022, under the care of Dr. Juan Sanabria for a surgery to reverse a colostomy. The doctor was assisted by residents Jessica Hale and Andrew Weaver as well as CHH employees Amy Smith, Ronald Moore, Stacy Nutter, Patricia Johnson and Kelli Brown.
Staun
| File photo
The complaint says the operative record shows a stapler failed causing complications with the surgery. The stapler that failed or separated was an ECS21A J&J Ethicon 21 mm from lot number U93T53. That stapler was designated in records as “defective/recalled,” according to the complaint.
“We did a colorectal EEA 21 anastomosis without any complications,” Sanabria wrote in the findings of the operative record. “However, at the time of release and taking out the stapler from the rectum, it did not release and it came apart leaving the anvil inside the rectum.
“In trying to remove the anvil, we tore the anastomosis and we had to close the rectal hole with handsewn technique and redo the colorectal anastomosis, which was fine this time.”
Because of the complication of the anvil separating from the stapler and remaining inside Ross, the original anastomosis was disrupted and the colon otherwise damaged, requiring a second anastomosis and an ileostomy, according to the complaint.
After the surgery, Sanabria spoke with Ross’ friend Peggy Dingess to tell her Ross was “fine and in recovery.” He then explained a surgical device had malfunctioned and “fell apart” and “fell off insider her” and that he had to “go in and get it.” He also said there had been problems with the device before and he didn’t know “why they still have it on the shelf.”
Because of the complications, Ross required multiple hospitalizations and suffered dehydration, nausea, bleeding and pain. She had surgery to reverse the ileostomy on November 1, 2023.
The complaint says the defective stapler was not retained by CHH, was not returned to the manufacturer for inspection and can’t be located.
“Without the stapler, it is impossible for the plaintiff to determine and prove that the stapler was defective in design or manufacture, and that a defect caused the anvil to separate,” the complaint states, adding Ross can’t pursue a products liability claim for damages against the manufacturer because the defendants failed to secure the stapler.
“Before we filed the lawsuit, we performed an investigation to try to see the stapler,” attorney Mark R. Staun told The West Virginia Record. “We wanted to examine it or to find out if it had been returned to J&J, but it hadn’t been. Otherwise, we might have filed a product liability claim against J&J. We tried to figure this out before we filed the suit.”
Ross accuses the defendants of medical negligence by breaching the standard of care and of negligent spoliation of evidence. She seeks joint and several compensatory and general damages, including court costs, attorney fees, expenses, pre- and post-judgment interests and other relief.
She is being represented by Staun, R. Dean Hartley and James M. Barber of Hartley Law Group in Charleston.
Cabell Circuit Court case number 24-C-293