Hernia Repair Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Over Failure to Treat Abscess, Complications

An Illinois doctor faces a medical malpractice lawsuit after misdiagnosing an intra-abdominal abscess following a hernia repair surgery. 

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Pramodbhai Patel in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois on June 20, indicating that Dr. Frank Liao’s failure to diagnose and treat an abscess and other hernia repair complications resulted in a pulmonary embolism and permanent injuries.

Patel indicates in the lawsuit that Dr. Liao performed a laparoscopic left inguinal hernia repair on August 29, 2012, involving a large Bard 3D mesh. However, after the procedure, Patel suffered excess swelling, decreased appetite, difficulty walking, and fatigue.

When Patel told Dr. Liao of his symptoms, an abdominal CT scan was ordered in September 2012. However, while the scan revealed air fluid levels and thick-walled fluid collection, the radiologist suggested to Dr. Liao that Patel undergo another scan, this time with a contrast agent. The radiologist indicated that the first scan left it unclear whether there was a bowel herniation or abscess.

According to allegations raised in the lawsuit, Dr. Liao decided that the scan showed a post-op fluid collection, and not an abscess, and failed to order the second CT scan. Instead he told Patel to follow up with him in one week.

“On the night of September 25, 2012, Mr. Patel was admitted to the emergency room with a fever of 103.3 degrees,” the lawsuit states. “He was diagnosed with an intra-abdominal abscess and a pulmonary embolism.”

The complaint indicates that Patel was given heparin to treat the pulmonary embolism, and on September 30, 2012, suffered a large parenchymal hemorrhage in the right parietal and temporal lobes of his brain, with extensive surrounding edema.

The medical malpractice lawsuit accuses Liao of negligence, indicating that he injured Patel’s colon during the hernia repair surgery, failed to recognize the abscess in the CT scan, failed to order a second CT scan when the first’s results were unclear, failed to address Patel’s symptoms after the surgery and failed to diagnose the abscess.

Patel seeks compensation for permanent and severe medical injuries, multiple hospitalizations, severe pain and suffering, and disability.