A medical malpractice suit against Emory University Hospital (EUH) and three Emory doctors has been dismissed after the plaintiff, Lacrystal Lockett, failed to provide any evidence.
Lockett filed a lawsuit June 26, 2017, alleging that doctors left a camera in her torso after a December 2014 kidney and pancreatic transplant operation.
EUH’s attorney, Anna Fretwell, wrote in an Oct. 23 statement to the Wheel that medical cameras are not used in those types of procedures.
“No evidence to substantiate the plaintiff’s claims — medical records, photographs, the alleged camera itself, eyewitness testimony or any other evidence — ever was produced,” Fretwell wrote.
The Emory doctors who performed the operation were Denise Lo, Ronald Parsons and Paul Tso. The defendants, which include the doctors and EUH, filed a motion to dismiss the case July 25, 2017.
Lockett’s attorneys did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Lockett said the camera was found in a subsequent visit six months later, and more procedures were required to rectify the mistake in the suit filed nearly three years after the operation.
The lawsuit said that Lockett “suffered undue hardship through additional surgical procedures and has incurred medical expenses as well as significant pain and suffering, future pain and suffering and lost wages” and asked that a jury determine her compensation, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
