Black Woman's Hands And Feet Amputated After Surgical Mistake

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In July 2015, Adrienne Harris, a mother of three from Charlotte, North Carolina, entered Carolinas Medical Center to remove her fallopian tubes after she was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy. Months later, Adrienne had no hands and feet.

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Attorney Charles Monnett , who is representing Harris, said, “During her surgery, there was an injury to her bowel that went undetected, undiagnosed, and unrepaired.” According to WSOC-TV, “The surgery left a hole in her small intestine allowed the contents to leak into her abdomen causing sepsis. The lawsuit alleges doctors didn’t catch the mistake for two days.”

This gruesome error from a team of doctors forced Harris into another surgery to repair the hole, which resulted in portions of her small bowel and colon being removed. She remained ill and need more surgeries for months. Sadly, “Organ damage and poor condition brought on by the sepsis caused gangrene to her hands and feet.” Harris required “below the knee amputations of both legs and trans-radial amputations of both hands.” She also can’t properly digest food by mouth for the rest of her life.

Allegedly, the doctors at Carolinas Medical Center have completely destroy this mom’s life and guess how much they want to pay her in damages — a measly $500,000. The $500,000 cap was set in place by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2011, which doesn’t allow patients to receive anymore than that amount from hospitals. “Monnett argues that because her injuries are so severe, she should be allowed to claim non-economic damages above the $500,000 cap set in place by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2011. The lawsuit makes a constitutional challenge to the cap calling it an ‘arbitrary and capricious deprivation of the constitutional rights of an injured individual to recover non-economic damages.’”

Harris’ “negligence lawsuit names Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority – also known as Carolinas Healthcare or Atrium Health along with Dr. Lynn C. Pitson, Dr. Kathryn E. Webb and Dr. Tara M. Vick.” The suit also claims Webb was a resident at the time and performed the surgery under Pitson’s supervision — Harris and her lawyer suggests Webb’s inexperience was a factor in the botched surgery.

Of course no one from the hospital has commented. Our thoughts go out to Adrienne Harris.

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