CHARLESTON – A Lincoln County woman says she was severely injured during a botched medical procedure.
Amber Turley filed her complaint March 25 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Dr. Robert B. Shin and Charleston Area Medical Center.
According to the complaint, Shin performed a laparoscopic gastric sleeve and hiatal hernia repair on Turley on November 30, 2022. She had several follow-up appointments with Shin in the following months.
On March 9, 2023, Turley went to CAMC’s Weight Loss Center with complaints of nausea, vomiting and inability to keep liquids down. She went to CAMC’s Emergency Department the next day with the same complaints, and she was told to keep her scheduled endoscopy on March 20, 2023.
She went to CAMC’s Emergency Department again about a week later with the same issues. Lab results showed various abnormalities, including elevated bilirubin levels and liver function tests. Imaging also revealed cholelithiasis and sludge in her gallbladder.
On March 27, 2023, she had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed by Shin. During that procedure, Shin clipped and transected the common bile duct.
The complaint says Shin failed to report this “catastrophic injury” in his operative report, instead charting that there were no complications. It says the report also misrepresented the number of surgical clips used during the procedure.
Two days after the procedure, Turley presented elevated liver function tests. A workup with a HIDA scan, MRCP and ERCP showed obstruction of the common hepatic duct just below the confluence of the right and left intrahepatic ducts. Imagining also was suspicious for biliary leak.
“Shin had clipped and divided Ms. Turley’s common bile, common hepatic duct, an accessory right hepatic duct and the cystic artery duct during the cholecystectomy,” the complaint states, adding that imaging studies from CAMC and Cleveland Clinic show resection occurred. “While Dr. Shin’s operative report notes placement of six clips, he actually utilized 10 clips, including one of which appears to have scissored.”
As a result of the injuries, Turley says she has been forced to undergo a series of highly invasive surgical procedures to try to repair the damage caused by Shin, including percutaneous drainage, replacement of drainage catheters, a hepaticojejunostomy and posterior liver resection of segments 6 and 7.
Turley says she has suffered personal injuries, physical deterioration, pain, suffering, sorrow, mental anguish and severe emotional distress. She says she has had medical and treatment expenses, lost wages, lost earning capacity, lost benefits and lost household services.
She accuses the defendants of negligence in violation of the West Virginia Medical Professional Liability Act.
Turley seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
She is being represented by L. Dante diTrapano, Timothy D. Houston and Amanda J. Davis of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge David J. Hardy.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 25-C-401