A Cook County woman is suing a doctor, alleging he left a surgical instrument in her body after a laparoscopic procedure.
Linda Ramirez filed a lawsuit Sept. 22 in Cook County Circuit Court against Dr. Ryan Malcom, a staff physician at St. Anthony Hospital, alleging malpractice.
According to the complaint, on July 17, 2010, Ramirez was admitted to St. Anthony Hospital in Chicago with headache and stomach pain she had suffered for two days. Once she had been diagnosed with diverticulitis with an abscess, the suit says, Malcom performed a diagnostic laparoscopy.
The lawsuit alleges Malcom failed to follow proper protocol by not counting instruments before and after surgery. As a result, an instrument was left in the plaintiff’s abdomen, causing her severe pain, suffering and additional complications, the suit says.
Ramirez seeks damages of more than $50,000, plus legal costs. She is represented by attorney Nicholas M. Bigoness of the Law Offices of Nicholas M. Bigoness in Oakbrook.
This is a re-filing of Cook County Circuit Court case number 2012-L-008120.