TAMPA — She went to the hospital to have a kidney stone blasted away with sound waves, but the procedure wound up costing her a leg, her attorney says.
The procedure, called a lithotripsy, is considered noninvasive. Anesthesia is required, however, because the process — in which kidney stones are pulverized sonically — is extremely painful.
Kelli Woodfin thinks anesthesia complications caused circulation loss in her right leg, her lawyer David Eaton said. By the time the medical team figured out what went wrong, the leg could not be saved, he said.
Woodfin has filed a notice of intent to sue Tampa General Hospital and the Florida Health Sciences Center Inc.
TGH spokesman John Dunn, reached late Wednesday, said he could not comment on the filing because he had not discussed the case with the hospital's lawyers.
Reached at her home in Bunnell, north of Daytona Beach, Woodfin said life has become "very disturbing" since the procedure. Once she had the physical endurance to lift patients at assisted-living facilities. Now, she said, she sometimes can't muster the wherewithal to pump gas.
Kids point and stare, she said. She can't shoot pool, head to a bar, fish or jam at beach drum circles as she once did, she said. Her disability payments were cut off in January, so she has no income and bills aplenty.
"I just want to stay at home, because at home I can pretty much fend for myself with certain things," she said.
Woodfin had gone in for the same treatment six weeks before the fateful July 2008 procedure. Then, anesthesia complications led to temporary circulation loss in the same leg. Doctors thought the anesthetic used might have caused an adverse reaction, her lawyer said.
When Woodfin returned, Eaton said, doctors reassured her that the complications would not occur again. It is unclear whether the same anesthetic or process was used.
Now, Woodfin wants Tampa General Hospital to honor an agreement to arbitrate her malpractice claim, say court documents filed Wednesday.
Woodfin, 41, formerly of Tampa, used to work at an assisted living facility, Eaton said. She is now unemployed and uses a wheelchair. Also, the stump sometimes bleeds when she wears her prosthetic, which Eaton said doesn't fit correctly.
Prior to the procedure, Woodfin had no long-term health problems, save for the occasional kidney stone, Eaton said.
The hospital and the Health Sciences Center offered in April to discuss emotional damages, lost wages and continued medical costs related to the events, court documents indicate.
Woodfin agreed. But Eaton says that TGH and the center are now backing out. He said he does not understand the sudden shift.
Eaton estimated that the arbitration could potentially reach a $1.5 million settlement, far less than the award from losing a civil suit at trial, he said.
Woodfin said she wants the hospital and center to admit a mistake. She said she just doesn't feel like a whole person, and doesn't want to burden her family anymore.
"I always felt young," she said. "Now I feel so much older."
Times Staff Writer Victoria Bekiempis can be reached at (813) 226-3436 or vbekiempis@sptimes.com.
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