Patient dies when surgical 'blade' is left inside him, spurring $1M malpractice lawsuit

A man in South Carolina died when a sharp object was left inside his abdomen after a minimally invasive surgery. Jeffrey Alan Fulcher was just 58 years old. Now, more than three years later, his family has been awarded $1 million to resolve a wrongful death lawsuit filed against a public hospital in South Carolina. 

Fulcher’s relatives—on behalf of his estate—sued the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), where he was being treated for esophageal cancer in January 2022. According to the plaintiffs, the father of three responded well to radiation and chemotherapy, and in May began his recovery. 

On June 15, 2022, he underwent a scheduled procedure to remove part of his esophagus, at the advice of his provider at MUSC. It’s then that a retractor blade was said to be left inside the unconscious Fulcher, who was sewn up without the object being removed.

According to coverage from KNOP News 2, nurses at the hospital counted all surgical objects and none was missing. However, a few days after the procedure, the patient complained of strange pain in his abdomen near the site of his sutures. 

But, the lawsuit claims, an examination by a physician determined that he was recovering normally. While healing, Fulcher remained in the hospital.

The blade was not discovered until the early morning hours of June 20, when Fulcher’s wife said she received a phone call about the necessity of doing a “quick” surgery to remove a “metal piece” left inside her husband. It was soon discovered that the damage was more extensive—Fulcher’s colon had been perforated and needed to be partially removed. 

He died on June 21 of the injuries after becoming septic. Notably, his doctor and other clinicians at MUSC were named as co-defendants in the court filing as a result of their alleged medical malpractice and gross negligence. 

The case was settled out of court, with the state awarding Fulcher’s wife and their children $1 million. There is no mention of MUSC or the clinicians admitting to any wrongdoing.  

For more details on this story, read KNOP News 2’s coverage at the link below.