A German man was admitted into a hospital for a routine surgical procedure to treat his prostate cancer and was later discharged-but with 16 different operating tools left in his body.
Dirk Schroeder was 74-years-old when he went for the surgery in 2009 and died last year after his cancer spread.
But his family is now suing the hospital for over $120,000 for gross negligence, according to the Daily Mail.
Schroeder had to return to the hospital three months from the initial surgery after a visiting nurse noticed a gauze pad protruding from his wounds. He was also in a lot of pain.
After two operations, 16 items were removed from Schroeder's body including a needle, a 6-inch roll of bandage, cotton swabs and a piece of surgical mask, reported the Daily Mail.
The names of the hospital and the doctor have not been released yet and there are no reports of a response to the lawsuit, however, the hospital is reportedly claiming that Schroeder consumed the surgical material after the operation-never explaining how an individual could swallow a needle.
"Such an extent of foreign objects left inside a patient is unique in medical literature," family lawyer and medical expert Annette Corinth said according to the Daily Mail.
Corinth speculates that the gross negligence she believes took place led to complications with his condition and possibly shortened his life as a result.
"I hope the hospital will settle but otherwise the family are prepared to go all the way and sue in court," she said. "The family of the deceased spent lots of money on care, medicines and reconstruction of their home to look after this man."
(Source: The Daily Mail, UK)