Kaiser Botched His Vasectomy, Attorney Claims

11-29-2017 20:08:00

    VENTURA, Calif. (CN) – During his botched vasectomy, a Kaiser surgeon negligently caused a secondary wound, and an instrument left in the wound caused an infection, an attorney claims in a lawsuit filed in Ventura County Superior Court.
    John D. Tullis sued Kaiser Permanente, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, and Vito D. Imbasciani M.D., for professional negligence, willful misconduct, dependent adult abuse/neglect and assault and battery.
    Tullis, an attorney, says that during his vasectomy procedure, defendant Imbasciani, his surgeon, used his leg to hold the instruments instead of placing them on an instrument table. A sharp instrument slid down his leg and stabbed him on the side of the surgical site, Tullis states. When he informed the surgeon, Imbasciani at first argued with him, claiming it was simply the surgical pain he was feeling, but finally Tullis was able to get him to remove the errant tool after he insisted. Imbasciani reportedly said that was “the danger of using the patient as the work bench.”
    After the surgery, Tullis says Imbasciani noted that an instrument was missing, but that “it would turn up.”
    Tullis says there were two surgical wounds he was instructed to clean. When the pain medication wore off, Tullis says he had unexpected pain, and he then discovered a third wound site. The two sutured sites improved but the third site developed an infection and continued to worsen. Tullis says that after his wife removed a piece of metal from the third wound he went to the emergency room, where the metal was identified as a clamp used in vasectomies.
    Tullis says he has ongoing pain from the third wound, and he was later informed that the vasectomy was unsuccessful and he would need a second surgery.
    In addition to his claims for malpractice and willful misconduct, Tulllis claims he was “restricted in his ability to carry out normal activities or to protect his rights” during the surgery, at which time defendants were acting as “care custodians,” such that he met the definition of a “dependent adult” during the procedure, qualifying him to “recover enhanced damages for dependent adult abuse.” Additionally, he says the third wound caused by the sharp instrument and the clamp left in the wound amounts to touching to which he did not consent, and which therefore constitutes assault and battery.
    Tullis seeks general, special and punitive damages, interest and legal costs. As an attorney, he is representing himself, out of Camarillo, California.