Air Force vet had 57-inch metal wire running through body after angioplasty: lawsuit
An absent-minded cardiologist left a 57-inch metal wire inside the body of a decorated Air Force veteran who didn’t even realize something was wrong until 10 years later, a lawsuit claims.
German “OT” Ortiz, 70, moved to Las Vegas after spending 22 years in the Air Force, where he earned a Bronze Star for heroic service. He later learned in 2015 after an X-ray ahead of surgery to clear some blood clots that a wire was running inside his body, all the way from his aorta to his thigh, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
Ortiz’s attorney, James Jimmerson, laid out the vet’s claims to a jury Tuesday during opening statements of a medical malpractice trial expected to last a week. Ortiz is seeking damages of $800,000 from cardiologist Mark Taylor and the Heart Center of Nevada.
Ortiz was rushed to a hospital in 2005 with shortness of breath and doctors later determined he had congestive heart failure, which necessitated an angiogram, according to Ortiz’s lawsuit.
Jimmerson explained that the wire served a guide for the catheter and kept the device stiff as it was inserted through Ortiz’s bloodstream during the angioplasty. But the guide wire was left behind when the catheter was removed, according to Ortiz’s lawsuit.
Doctors removed the majority of the wire from Ortiz’s body last year during a heart procedure, but a 20-inch section still remains in his thigh, Jimmerson told a jury.
“A doctor must pay careful attention during a procedure,” Jimmerson said. “If a doctor does not pay careful attention during a procedure, the doctor is responsible for the injuries caused.”
In addition to medical malpractice, Ortiz’s lawsuit claims he was the victim of professional negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, training and supervision and loss of consortium, the newspaper reports.
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An attorney for Taylor, meanwhile, insisted that another doctor was responsible for the mishap, saying the surgeon was never informed that it was missing in the first place.
“Dr. Taylor met the standard of care and in no way was negligent or uncareful in his cardiology,” attorney Patricia Daehnke said. “We’re not here to pin responsibility on Dr. Taylor. We’re here to present the evidence to you.”
