Key Takeaways
- Emily Mitchell, 43, and her family were awarded $17 million after surgeon Dr. Danielle Gagnon mistakenly removed nearly her entire healthy bladder during a March 2023 outpatient surgery that was supposed to take out a benign ovarian cyst.
- Mitchell endured months with nephrostomy tubes, repeated infections, and later underwent reconstructive surgery in Boston to build a new bladder from intestinal tissue, but still faces lifelong self-catheterization and specialist care.
- A Kennebec County jury unanimously awarded $15.75 million to Emily and $1.25 million to her husband for loss of companionship, in what attorneys say is the largest medical malpractice verdict in county history, covering medical costs, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and permanent impairment.
A Maine woman has been awarded over $15 million after a surgeon removed almost all of her healthy bladder during what was supposed to be a routine outpatient procedure.
On Wednesday (July 22), a nine-person jury at Kennebec County Superior Court voted unanimously to award Mitchell $15.75 million, following a trial against Northern Light Inland Hospital and its parent, Northern Light Health.
Her husband, Joshua Mitchell, received an additional $1.25 million for loss of his wife's companionship and support, bringing the family's total award to $17 million. Attorneys confirmed it is the largest medical malpractice verdict in Kennebec County history.
On March 1, 2023, Mitchell, 43, of Skowhegan, went in for laparoscopic surgery to remove a benign cyst from her left ovary, which imaging had shown growing significantly in size. Surgeon Dr. Danielle Gagnon instead excised nearly all of Mitchell's healthy bladder. Pathology later confirmed the removed tissue was full-thickness bladder wall.
The error went undetected until Mitchell returned to the hospital in severe pain, with extreme bloating and unable to urinate. Doctors found insufficient healthy tissue remaining to repair or reconstruct her original bladder. She spent more than eight months relying on bilateral nephrostomy tubes to drain urine directly from her kidneys, enduring repeated urinary tract infections and kidney infections throughout that period.
In October 2023, Mitchell traveled to Boston for reconstructive surgery, where surgeons built her a new bladder using tissue from her intestine. More than three years later, she still requires self-catheterization multiple times daily and ongoing care from specialists.
The jury's damages covered past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, and permanent impairment.
