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.”