After a 4-year-old went in for inguinal hernia surgery and came out with a partial vasectomy, a Houston family is suing a doctor at Texas Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Susan Jarosz accidentally performed the vasectomy during the child’s hernia procedure last August.
Dr. Jarosz cut the child’s vas deferens, which is one of the tubes that carry reproductive semen, according to the family’s lawyer, Randy Sorrels.
“You expect things to happen in life but not unnecessarily at the hands of a surgeon who simply cut the wrong piece of anatomy,” Sorrels said to Fox 26 Houston. “It’s not a common mistake at all. Before a doctor transects or cuts any part of the anatomy, they’re supposed to positively identify what that anatomy is and then cut.”
The family expects to obtain $500,000 in damages from Texas Children’s Hospital, according to the lawyer. It is the maximum amount a party can receive in Texas for such an incident. The figure is calculated using the cost of potential artificial reproduction treatments as a medical expense.
“It (the vasectomy) wasn’t found out until that was sent into pathology,” he said.
Jarosz and the Texas Children’s Hospital risk management team informed the family of what had occurred and the potential short- and long-term repercussions of the damage, including decreased fertility.
“While apologies were given, full accountability was not accepted,” said Sorrels and Tom Omondi, another attorney. “The parents now face the difficult task of explaining this to their son at the appropriate age.”
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for Texas Children’s Hospital issued the following statement:
“Texas Children’s Hospital’s top priority is the health and well-being of our patient. Due to patient privacy requirements, we are unable to comment.”
The surgeon has never been accused of malpractice and no previous complaints have been filed against her, according to online records.