Lawsuit challenges $300K hip replacement that left patient permanently impaired

A surgeon in Maine is facing a lawsuit accusing him of botching a hip replacement surgery, leading to a patient being permanently impaired. Despite the alleged error, the patient was left with $300,000 in medical bills. 

The Bangor Daily News has the full story, as testimony in the civil trial began on Tuesday. According to the outlet, court documents allege the surgeon Peter Copithorne—while working at Ellsworth’s Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital—unnecessarily sawed a gap in 71-year-old Mary Shea’s femur during a hip replacement procedure. 

Attorneys representing Shea said Copithorne read the wrong X-ray and never noticed the implant was not secured to her femur as it should have been, which led to the second surgery taking place where a centimeter of bone had to be removed.

The incidents took place in 2019. Court documents claim Shea would go on to have even more surgeries from another doctor looking to repair the damage done by Copithorne. 

According to the Bangor Daily News, a physician expert testified that the implant becoming detached from the bone is a normal part of recovery, typically involving a second procedure to put things on track. 

However, because of the delay caused by the misreading of the X-ray, the delay led to a second, more invasive surgery that ultimately left Shea with a permanent loss of mobility. 

Reporters said she entered the courtroom with a cane. 

She is seeking damages and challenging the validity of the medical debt stemming from the encounters. The trial is expected to last the rest of the week. 

For more, read the full story in the Bangor Daily News at the link below.