Half Million Dollar Suit for Causing Infertility

The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, PA has reported that Michelle Hebda, of Plymouth, has filed a $550,000 medical malpractice suit against doctors that allegedly caused her infertility and performed a procedure without gaining her permission first.

Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. and Melissa A. Scartelli, attorneys for Hebda, filed the lawsuit in Luzerne County Court.  The 50-page suit names the defendants as John W. Frye, MD; OB-GYN Associates of Kingston, Peter James Andrews Jr., MD; Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, and Wilkes-Barre Hospital Co., of Tennessee.

The suit states that Frye had been Hebda's doctor since 1991 and performed at least two surgeries on her after being diagnosed with both endometriosis and chronic pelvic inflammatory disease.

The suit continues to state that on August 13, 2009, Hebda told Frye that she wanted to conceive a child.  At that time Frye made the suggestion that a third surgery be performed on Hebda to evaluate her pelvic pain and possible endometriosis.  It is alleged that Frye didn't explain indications, advantages, disadvantages, risks, benefits or alternatives to surgery.

General Hospital admitted Hebda on August 24, 2009 for the surgical evaluation. After surgery Hebda reported to her nurse that she was feeling very sick and was having pain.  Noting her two prior surgeries, Hebda could not place this postoperative pain with any she'd ever felt before.

Frye prescribed medication the next day as Hebda was still extremely sore and her pain had increased in intensity.  By the evening of August 25, after taking the medication as prescribed, Hebda had begun vomiting green material.

Hebda telephoned Frye, spoke to the on-call physician instead, and was told that her symptoms were most likely a by-product of the anesthetic used in her surgery.  She was told to call Frye back in the morning.

The next day Frye examined Hebda's abdomen and said that the bout of vomiting was due to her "history of gastrointestinal problems" - in the suit Hebda claims to have had no gastrointestinal history - and told her to contact the on-call doctor if she grew sick.

By the following night Hebda vomiting had grown uncontrollable.  She also reported that when she tried to sleep, or when she fell asleep, she was roused when she found herself choking on vomit.

On Hebda's August 25 visit, Frye noted that she reported feeling well, had some mild cramping and no nausea or vomiting.  The report from the next day does document Hebda's night as "difficult" and a subsequent abdominal examination revealed that the surgery's incision site was healing.

Yet Hebda was in the emergency room at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital the next day for complaints of acute abdominal pain, vomiting and nausea.

After intravenous hydration, and a surgical evaluation, Dr. Andrews believed that Hebda suffered from a small bowel obstruction.  Andrews performed the surgery and discharged Hebda on September 3, 2009. Hebda discontinued treatment with Frye at this time.

On October 28, Hebda saw Andrews again with a chief complaint of abdominal pain and nausea. Andrews ordered a pelvic and abdominal CT scan, that later showed an ovarian cyst.

At the time of the next surgery, performed on December 1, 2009, Hebda gave specific instructions to both Andrews and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital that Frye was not to perform or participate in any way. Afterwards, however, Andrews admitted to Hebda that Frye did indeed perform her surgery.

The suit alleges that all of the defendants failed to provide Hebda with "proper and competent care." Subsequently she has suffered from undue pain, anxiety, scarring, infertility, inconvenience and depression.

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