Ohio residents have heard of some pretty distressing stories about medical malpractice and negligence on the part of doctors and hospital staff. A recent admission by the University of Toledo about what happened at its hospital could be one of the more disturbing stories told recently.

Officials at the University of Toledo Medical Center were forced to acknowledge recently that "human error" led to a woman not being able to receive a kidney transplant from her brother. This could be a case of hospital negligence.

According to reports, which the hospital will not talk about, a nurse threw the kidney away after it had been removed the man. The organ could not be used by the time the error was discovered. The man's sister, who has end-stage renal disease, was already in the operating room, waiting to receive the kidney. She now will have to go back onto a waiting list for a match, and she will not get any preferential treatment, even though it's the hospital's fault.

The hospital said that it has temporarily shut down its kidney transplant program and that an internal review is being conducted. And while this is most likely a tragic mistake, the hospital needs to be held accountable. Perhaps an investigation conducted by an external source would be more appropriate?

Additionally, several medical malpractice attorneys in the Toledo area said the family has grounds for a lawsuit. It would not be a jury trial, since the hospital is part of a state college, which is a state agency. But the family will have an avenue to try and get justice. Because she didn't get the transplant she needed, the woman will likely continue to incur large medical bills while she awaits her next chance at surgery.

Source: Toledo Blade, "Transplant tragedy," Aug. 26, 2012