We’ve all heard horror stories about people going into surgery, only to come out in a condition far worse than when they entered the operating room. Apparently, medical malpractice knows no professional boundaries, as a recent case involves egregious medical errors on a person who worked in the healthcare field himself.

The victim this time is 87-year-old Zivko Zivkovic, a retired pathologist, who now requires around-the-clock care after a series of operating room errors.

Zivkovic’s troubles began when a doctor perforated his bowel during a routine colonoscopy. Surgeons were unable to repair the colon. The solution was to perform a complete irreversible colostomy.

Following the surgery, doctors realized that Zivkovic had suffered a heart attack during the procedure. The result of this was mild brain damage.

But, that’s not all. They also discovered that during the surgery they had slashed his prostrate and torn the neck of his bladder. This would require further surgery.

Finally, while recovering in the hospital’s transitional care unit, Zivkovic contracted a hospital-borne infection. This infection was passed on to his wife who was attending him in the care unit. Subsequently, both Zivkovic and his wife had to be quarantined while this problem was now treated.

SOURCE: Center for Justice & Democracy http://www.centerjd.org/stories/Zivkovic.html