Wrong kidney removed

[Bob Of Burleson]

Family files suit after wrong kidney removed

By Elizabeth Campbell
liz@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — When Glenn Hermes learned that he had cancer in one of his kidneys early last year, he agreed to have surgery to remove his left kidney before it had a chance to spread.

He checked into Plaza Medical Center in Fort Worth and his left kidney was removed. Hermes thought it was a crisis averted.

But then Hermes soon learned that a pathology report had been misread and that the wrong kidney was removed — it was his right kidney that was riddled with cancer.

Hermes, 55, chief executive officer for a wound care and hyperbaric medicine management company, was looking forward to retirement and spending time with his grandchildren.

Now, he deals with an uncertain future wondering if he will face dialysis, a transplant or the possibility of taking expensive drugs.

“There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think about this,” Hermes said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. A portion of Hermes’ right kidney was removed because of the cancer, and he now has limited kidney function.

“I’m getting to the point where I should be enjoying life and thinking about retirement and not thinking about a transplant. It’s pretty emotional,” Hermes said.

Late Tuesday, Hermes and his wife Bernadette filed a lawsuit against his urologist, Dr. Robert Stroud, and a radiologist, Dr. David Fenyes, for malpractice and gross negligence after learning that a pathology report showed that the left kidney was healthy and “benign.”

The lawsuit, which was filed in Tarrant County civil district court, also lists Lonestar Urology where Stroud is listed as president and Radiology Associates of North Texas were also listed as defendants. Plaza Medical Center was not named in the lawsuit.

Hermes and his wife, who live in Arlington, are seeking over $1 million in damages.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/06/11 ... rylink=cpy

[BigTex]

A million for a mistake like that is cheap. He should be the next owner of the hospital.

[LibraryLady]

...and no amount of money will fix his problem.

[BigTex]

Maybe not, but money is how we keep score.