Emily Mitchell, 41, was awarded $17m (£12.79m) by Kennebec County Superior Court after surgeons at Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville, Maine, mistakenly removed her bladder during a March 2023 operation to remove an ovarian cyst. The error was discovered when she was transferred to Maine Medical Centre after her condition deteriorated.
Devastating surgical error
Lawyers from the firm Berman & Simmons said Ms Mitchell had scheduled the surgery after imaging showed a benign ovarian cyst had significantly increased in size. During the procedure, pathology confirmed that instead of removing the cyst, surgeons removed "full-thickness bladder tissue," extracting so much that it was impossible to "reconstruct or repair the organ."
Long recovery and permanent effects
Ms Mitchell spent eight months on bilateral nephrostomy tubes, which drained urine directly from her kidneys into external bags. She suffered recurrent urinary tract infections, kidney infections, and multiple medical procedures with new complications. She eventually received a neobladder made from a section of her small intestine in Massachusetts.
Nearly three years later, she "continues to live with the permanent effects of those injuries," her lawyers said. These include the need to insert a catheter multiple times daily and ongoing medical treatment from specialists.
Largest malpractice award in Kennebec County
Ms Mitchell won her lawsuit against Northern Light Inland Hospital and Northern Light Health last Thursday after a two-week trial. The award, believed to be the largest in Kennebec County history, included nearly $2m (£1.5m) for past and future medical expenses, $6m (£4.5m) for pain and suffering, and $8m (£6.01m) for permanent injury. Her husband, Joshua, received more than $1m (£752,000) for loss of care and companionship.
Attorney Susan A Faunce said in a statement: "For our clients, this isn't just a legal victory—it's the closure they've needed for a long time. They can finally begin to move forward, knowing that what happened to them was seen, heard, and acknowledged. This verdict won't undo the pain our clients have endured, but it does offer something they haven't had in a long time: closure."
Ms Faunce added: “Although it doesn’t erase the pain and the loss that they’ve endured or that they continue to endure, the verdict recognizes the truth of what they’ve gone through and provides long overdue accountability.”
