A Silver Springs man has filed a lawsuit against an Orthopaedic facility in Ocala, claiming a doctor left him with a “severe femoral perforation” in his left hip after he received replacement surgery.
Attorneys representing Kenneth and Michelle Eatman filed the lawsuit against The Orthopaedic Institute and Dr. Joseph Locker in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County on August 26.
According to the complaint, Mr. Eatman was visiting the facility located at 1710 SE 16th Avenue in Ocala on April 11, 2024, to undergo a total hip replacement surgery performed by Dr. Locker.
The lawsuit alleges that the “left total hip replacement” was performed “negligently and caused a severe femoral perforation” that was neither recognized nor addressed “intraoperatively.”
A femoral perforation is a hole in the thighbone’s cortex that can happen when a surgical instrument goes through the bone’s outer layer. Although they are often an intraoperative complication, meaning they occur and are resolved during operations, they also may be recognized later and may require revision surgery.
According to the complaint, on April 23, 2024, Eatman reported “significant pain and difficulty walking.” After receiving an X-ray, it was revealed that Eatman had a femoral perforation, prompting “Dr. Locker to perform an emergency revision.”
The revision was performed by Dr. Locker on April 24, 2024. Following the procedure, the complaint alleges that Dr. Locker “admitted to Mr. Eatman that he had neglected to take a lateral view during the initial surgery.” If the doctor had, he would have likely seen the error, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that the revision surgery left the “foraminal stem in slight varus, increasing the risk of aseptic loosening and the likelihood of another revision.”
The Eatmans’ attorneys argue that Dr. Locker failed to practice “within the appropriate standard of care for a reasonably prudent physician practicing under similar conditions and circumstances.” It alleges that the standard of care would require the physician to “prevent perforations,” and to diagnose and “correct perforations” as they occur.
The complaint further alleges the botched procedure by Dr. Locker was a “preventable surgical error” and that the doctor failed to “identify and correct the perforation intraoperatively, despite tactile and visual feedback, and the use of fluoroscopic imaging.”
As a result of the doctor’s alleged negligence, Eatman’s attorneys claim their client suffered bodily injury, “pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life,” and a variety of additional expenses related to hospitalization and medical care.
The complaint alleges that the losses are “permanent and continuing,” and that Eatman will continue to suffer “losses in the future.” The lawsuit also alleges that Mrs. Eatman has suffered a loss of consortium as a result of the alleged botched procedure.
The Eatmans are seeking more than $50,000 in damages, exclusive of attorney’s costs.
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