Kaiser Liable for Amputation, Man Says
1-20-2015 23:34:00


CLEVELAND, Ohio (CN) - Kaiser staff botched an ankle surgery and failed to treat an infection, leading to the amputation of a man’s lower leg, he claims in a federal complaint filed in a Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

Charles Sago had undergone an ankle fusion procedure that did not take, so the non-union was treated with an “external fixator device," which came loose after the operation.
“Defendants were to order ‘spacer/clips’ to stabilize the fixator device,” according to the complaint. “Defendants were negligent and did not order the clips in a timely manner and, in addition, failed to treat a post-operative infection in an appropriate manner, which resulted in Charles Sago’s below-the-knee amputation.”
In addition to the "great pain and suffering" involved with losing part of his leg, Sago says he incurred medical expenses and loss of income.
Sago and his wife, Lizabeth, sued Kaiser Permanente, Ohio Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and individual defendants Mark Hardy, Jeffrey Lupica and Eric Lew, alleging the defendants “acted with wanton and willful indifference.”
The Sagos seek punitive damages.
They are represented by William Novak and Scott Perlmuter of Novak Pavlik Deliberato, in Cleveland, Ohio.
CV 14 833660