Appendectomy-Gone-Wrong Settlement Reached in North Carolina Case

A medical malpractice settlement has been reached in an ongoing case against a North Carolina doctor. The trial began on December 2 and after just over two weeks, the jury found Dr. Andrew T. Hearn negligent on December 18. After a two-week court break for the holidays, the jury was scheduled to begin hearing evidence concerning the monetary damages that would be awarded to the plaintiffs ─ a woman and her prematurely born daughter.

Specific details of the North Carolina birth injury settlement have not been disclosed.

On Christmas Day 2009, Hearn removed Asma Hajeh’s appendix through emergency surgery. A few months later, in May 2010, she went back to the hospital and was again diagnosed with appendicitis. It was determined that a 4-centimeter section of her appendix was not removed during the first surgery. The second surgery caused her daughter to be born prematurely and consequently she suffers and will continue to suffer lifelong developmental difficulties. Hajeh was 35 years old at the time of the 2009 surgery.

Only part of plaintiff’s appendix removed

During the negligence phase of the trial, a Winston-Salem pathologist testified that only two-thirds of Hajeh’s appendix was removed during the first surgery in 2009. Additionally, a Duke University Medical Center surgeon and a Texas surgeon who has written peer-reviewed studies about appendectomies served as expert witnesses for the plaintiffs.

Hearn took the stand to testify in his defense, as well as several other doctors. His defense team claimed that he worked quickly during the 2009 surgery to avoid causing complications in Hajeh’s early pregnancy.

Witnesses for the plaintiff said the average appendectomy takes approximately 30 minutes to one hour to complete. Hearn completed Hajeh’s surgery in just 17 minutes.

Hearn may soon face another malpractice trial from a different patient. He is one of several named defendants in a lawsuit brought by a woman who suffered heart damage in 2011 after a stent was improperly placed, causing permanent injury.

While Hearn no longer practices at the Alamance Regional Medical Center, where the procedures took place, he is still licensed to practice medicine in North Carolina. However, he is currently residing in Ohio, which is where he graduated from medical school.

About appendectomies

An appendectomy is a surgery to remove the appendix ─ the small, finger-shaped organ branching out from the first part of the large intestine. This organ must be removed when it becomes inflamed or infected, which is known as appendicitis. When an appendix is perforated, it can leak and infect the entire abdomen, which can be deadly.

Appendicitis can be difficult to diagnose in children, senior citizens and women of childbearing age. There are no actual tests to confirm that a patient has this condition. Symptoms often include a sharp and severe pain that moves into the right lower abdomen. Additionally, many patients suffer from diarrhea or constipation, fever, nausea or vomiting and reduced appetite. Anyone who suspects they may be suffering from appendicitis is urged to seek immediate medical attention.

Most patients recover quickly from a simple appendectomy, leaving the hospital one or two days following the procedure. It generally takes people roughly two to four weeks to get back to normal after undergoing the surgery.

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