Woman develops necrotizing fasciitis after tubal ligation

Cook County (Ill) Circuit Court

A 49-year-old woman underwent a tubal ligation procedure. During the surgery, the patient’s bladder was punctured, resulting in an infection in her abdomen. Soon thereafter, she developed necrotizing fasciitis. Despite the removal of much of her external genitalia and treatments to stop the spread of infection, the woman died 9 days after the initial surgery.

In suing, the family of the patient claimed that the doctors ignored signs of the bacterial infection for 4 days. They further argued that since a 49-year-old woman has less than a 1% chance of becoming pregnant, the tubal ligation should never have been performed.

The doctors denied negligence and claimed that a correct diagnosis was made.

• The jury awarded the family $6.5 million.