American accuses doctor of malpractice

An American cancer patient filed a P5-million damage suit in court against a Cebu physician whom he accused of medical malpractice and negligence.

Daniel Trudell said Dr. John Mata of Perpetual Succour Hospital failed to completely remove  his prostate and the tissues around it as agreed  before the surgery  to stop cancer cells from spreading.

Trudell, who resides in Lilo-an town, Cebu, is seeking P4.5  million in damages P200,000 in litigation costs, and attorney’s fees equivalent to not less than 15 % of the total monetary claim.

Also impleaded in the complaint was Pepetual Succour Hospital where Mata works as a urologist.

In response, the doctor’s lawyer Marc Phua said  the complaint came as a surprise to Mata  who is  among the best trained and experienced urologists in Cebu.

“It would be irresponsible on our part to presume negligence or malpractice by a phsycian based solely on the outcome of a patient’s surgery,“ Phua said in a letter to Trudell’s counsel.

Even the best hospitals and physicians could not guess the outcome of any surgery especially if the patient is suffering from cancer, said the lawyer.

He said they are nonetheless open to settle the issues with Trudell.

Trudell said he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010. A prostate core biopsy at St. Luke’s Hospital in Manila failed to remove the cancer. In 2013, he consulted with  Dr. Mata and took his advice to have “radical prostatectomy” to remove the cancer cells in August 2013.

After the surgery, Trudell said he still suffered from urinary tract infection. In September  2014 he sought treatment in St. Luke’s again and was surprised to learn his prostate was  still intact, which caused him “panic and stress.”