Medical center, doctors sued for medical malpractice

An Indiana woman is suing a local hospital and its staff, alleging a performed surgery resulted in liver disease.

Annette Van Houten filed a lawsuit Oct. 21 in the Cook County Circuit Court against the University of Chicago Medical Center, Intuitive Surgical Inc. and Drs. Perpetua Goodall and Vani Konda,citing medical malpractice.

According to the complaint, Goodall performed a hysterectomy surgery on Oct. 31, 2011 on the plaintiff using the Da Vinci robotic surgical system, which was designed and manufactured by Intuitive Surgical Inc. T

Van Houten alleges that she suffered and persistent severe abdominal pain after the surgery and was then referred to Konda, a gastrologist who allegedly found nothing wrong.

In May 2013, the plaintiff was diagnosed with stage 1 liver disease, which she alleges should have been discovered by attending physicians. She further claims the surgeon should have known the device used for her surgery was faulty prior to use and that it has since been recalled by the government.

Van Houten is seeking damages in an amount to be determined at trial, plus costs. She is representing herself in the case pro se.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2013L011617.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.