A 74-year-old woman went in to lose her cancerous leg. She woke up with the wrong one gone and the surgeon’s mark still on the right one

A 74-year-old woman named Sharon Jacks went into Selby General Hospital in Marietta, Ohio, to have her cancerous right leg amputated, but she woke up to discover that surgeons had removed her healthy left leg instead. The wrong leg amputation has now resulted in a lawsuit against the hospital and its surgical team, according to Law&Crime. According to the legal complaint, Jacks had a chronic venous stasis ulcer and squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.

The medical team had determined that a below-knee amputation of the right lower extremity was necessary. She consented to that specific procedure, and the surgical schedule even explicitly identified the right leg as the correct site. Hospital protocol required the team to verify and mark the surgical site before operating. It also required a time-out, when the team pauses to review the plan.

Jacks and her husband, Dannie, have named the hospital, its parent company, Marietta Area Health Care Inc., and members of the surgical team as defendants. The lawsuit notes that the surgical team actually conducted two of these time-outs before starting the operation. However, they still proceeded to operate on the wrong leg. The situation is even more baffling because the surgeon reportedly marked the correct leg before the procedure began.

The lawsuit says the team marked the right leg and still removed the wrong one

Attorney Brad Layne, who is representing Jacks, pointed out that the mark was still visible on the right leg even after the left leg had already been removed. He said the records show both time-outs took place, yet the wrong leg was still amputated. “It defies explanation,” Layne said. The lawsuit states that the Joint Commission classifies a wrong-site amputation as a never event, a term for medical errors so severe they should never occur.

The complaint characterizes the mistake as a complete failure of basic patient safety procedures. It claims Jacks has suffered permanent injury and emotional distress, among other damages. Her husband is also a plaintiff, as the complaint claims her lost mobility has affected their marriage and companionship. Selby General Hospital eventually issued a statement acknowledging that its own review confirmed the wrong leg amputation was an avoidable event.

It admitted it did not follow its expected operating room procedures during the surgery. The hospital also said it held the individuals involved accountable and that they are no longer in their positions at the facility. However, that has not stopped Jacks from suing the staff who removed the wrong leg. Doctors removed her right leg as originally planned about four months later, leaving her a double amputee.

While Layne said that Jacks no longer has cancer, the physical and emotional toll of losing the wrong leg is something she will have to deal with for the rest of her life.