Maine surgeon removed a woman’s bladder instead of an ovarian cyst. Then a jury awarded her family $17 million

A Maine woman has been awarded $15.75 million after a surgeon removed her bladder instead of an ovarian cyst during what was supposed to be a routine operation, according to the Bangor Daily News.

Emily Mitchell, 43, of Skowhegan, received the verdict in Kennebec County Superior Court on Thursday, more than three years after the surgery performed by Dr. Danielle Gagnon, the outlet reported.

A nine-person jury unanimously found that Northern Light Inland Hospital was negligent and responsible for Mitchell’s injuries. Her husband, Joshua Mitchell, was separately awarded $1.25 million in damages tied to the aftermath of the operation.

Attorney says the verdict brings closure after years of medical complications

Mitchell’s attorney, Susan Faunce, said the verdict gave her client and her family long-awaited closure. “For Emily and her family, this is the closure they’ve needed for a long time,” Faunce told the outlet. “They can finally begin to move forward, knowing that what happened to them was seen, heard and acknowledged,” she added.

A spokesperson for Northern Light, Suzanne Spruce, responded to the verdict in a statement to the outlet. “We respect the jury’s verdict and extend our sympathy to Ms. Mitchell and her family,” Spruce said. “Every patient who comes to our organization deserves safe, compassionate and high-quality care,” she added. “When outcomes fall short of those expectations, we take them very seriously.”

The combined $17 million award is believed to be the largest medical malpractice verdict in Kennebec County history. It is also the fourth lawsuit this year in which a jury has found a hospital run by Northern Light negligent in its care of patients. Mitchell’s case is not the only recent report of a surgeon removing the wrong organ from a patient. 

Court documents cited by the outlet state that Mitchell, who was 40 at the time, underwent laparoscopic surgery on March 1, 2023, expecting doctors to remove a cyst from her left ovary. Instead, the documents state, Gagnon removed her bladder.

Mitchell filed a lawsuit in July 2025 against Inland Hospital in Waterville and Northern Light Health, alleging that Gagnon failed to follow safety protocols during the procedure. “Emily Mitchell is living a nightmare, suffering daily with a permanent injury that has dramatically altered her life,” said Faunce. “Emily went to Inland Hospital for a routine day surgery and left without a vital organ,” she said.

The lawsuit, obtained by the outlet, accused the hospital of removing Mitchell’s bladder without her consent during what was intended to be a routine procedure. Gagnon never discussed the possibility of a bladder removal with Mitchell before the surgery, the documents state.

The filing stated that “a reasonable person, under all surrounding circumstances, would not have consented to the surgery if she had known that Dr. Gagnon was going to remove her bladder or if there was a substantial risk that her bladder could be removed.” Joshua Mitchell also claimed in the suit that he lost the care, comfort and companionship of his wife as a result of the surgery.

The lawsuit states Mitchell returned to the hospital shortly after the operation with intense pain and discomfort, bloating and trouble urinating. She was transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor two days after the surgery as her symptoms worsened.

Doctors there performed exploratory surgery expecting to find and repair what they believed was a bladder injury. Instead, they found that Mitchell’s bladder wall was missing. Two additional surgeons were called in and agreed there was not enough viable bladder tissue remaining to attempt a reconstruction.

The suit states that Gagnon had removed nearly all of Mitchell’s healthy bladder. A pathology report cited in the filing found “full thickness fragments of bladder wall” in the tissue removed during surgery, with no sign of ovarian tissue.

Mitchell was left with temporary tubes inside her body and experienced a series of complications in the months that followed, including kidney infections, urinary tract infections and issues with medication, the lawsuit states.

In October 2023, she traveled to Boston for another surgery to construct a new bladder using tissue from her intestine. Large payouts against restaurants and businesses over unexpected injuries have also made headlines recently, including a lawsuit over a mashed potato injury. 

That procedure was about 200 percent more difficult than expected and took three hours longer than a typical operation after surgeons found additional damage, the lawsuit states. Years later, Mitchell continues to need ongoing medical treatment and deals with recurring urinary tract infections.

The trial began on July 13, and the jury returned its unanimous verdict in Mitchell’s favor on Thursday. Her award includes compensation for her injuries, pain and suffering, and ongoing medical expenses.

Gagnon is no longer employed by Northern Light Health, the outlet reported. The hospital where the surgery took place also closed last year after executives said it was losing about $1.5 million a month.