Woman sues Balwant Singh Hospital over unauthorised removal of organs

A 45-year-old woman has filed legal action against the Dr Balwant Singh Hospital and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), over the unauthorised removal of her cervix and ovaries.
The lawsuit, filed by Attorney-at-Law Sajeev Datadin on behalf of Wonder Kellman-Hall, accuses the private medical institution of surgically removing the woman’s organs without her permission.
Kellman-Hall, a mother of two adult children, is seeking damages in excess of $5 million from the hospital and its CEO for negligence, exemplary and aggravated damages of more than $1 million, and special damages in the sum of $659,500 – a total of $6,659,500.
In her Statement of Claim (SoC), Kellman-Hall (the claimant) said that on or around June 2021, she encountered problems she believed were connected to her reproductive organs, and she visited the hospital.
There, she met a gynaecologist, who advised her that she had fibroids attached to her womb and an umbilical hernia. After further consultation, the claimant said, it was agreed that at an estimated cost of $650,500, she would undergo a surgical procedure to remove her womb and a second surgery to remove the hernia. According to Kellman-Hall, after discussions with the doctor, she decided to have the surgeries done, and expressly stated that she did not want her cervix and ovaries to be removed.
“On June 8, 2021, the claimant went to [hospital] where she signed a consent form for the surgeries, and expressly wrote on the consent form that she did not want her ovaries and cervix to be removed during the surgeries,” the woman’s claim reads.
On June 9, 2021, Kellman-Hall said, she was admitted to the hospital to undergo the surgeries and had to pay the hospital the full $659,500. She said she was discharged on June 11, 2021. Sometime after the surgeries were performed, the claimant averred, she visited the gynaecologist and she never indicated to her that her cervix and both ovaries had been removed.
According to Kellman-Hall, she made a follow-up visit to the hospital on August 23, 2022 to have an ultrasound, and after the procedure, the gynaecologist advised her that everything was normal with her body. Being concerned, she was deposed, and about a week later, she visited the Cancer Institute of Guyana, where she performed another ultrasound. Based on the results, she said, the oncologist advised her that her cervix and both of her ovaries had been removed.
The lawsuit added, “The claimant began experiencing various changes in her body, such as extreme sweating during the nights, pains when standing too long, hot flashes, chills, lack of energy, lack of concentration, and changes in her mood.” And these, it noted, have severely affected her ability to work as a travel agent.
It was only during a subsequent visit to the hospital, the woman noted, that the gynaecologist explained to her that she had bleeding in one of her ovaries, and that one of the organs was removed during the surgery.
The claimant averred that she later re-examined her discharge summary from the hospital and noticed that it included a TAH with unilateral oophorectomy + B/B Salpingectomy; the latter two procedures she never consented to have done on her.
Kellman-Hall further said that she has requested all the documentation from the hospital concerning the surgery, but has not received any such information to date.
In addition to damages, the claimant is seeking interests such as further or other reliefs the court deems just, as well as costs.