Jury awards $870,000 to man whose surgeon removed the wrong testicle

In 2013, Steven Hanes visited his urologist, complaining of persistent pain in his right testicle.

An ultrasound revealed that the testicle had atrophied, with scarring and damage from a previous injury, according to court documents. And so the doctor scheduled an orchiectomy — or surgical removal of the testicle — to help alleviate Hanes’ pain.

The good news? The orchiectomy was successful.

The bad news? The doctor removed the wrong testicle during the surgery.

“At this point it appeared that the left testicle and cord may actually have been removed instead of the right one,” the surgeon, Valley Spencer Long, wrote in a postoperative report, according to court records.

The mistake prompted Hanes in 2014 to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against Long and J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital in central Pennsylvania, citing negligence on the part of both.

Four years after the surgical mistake, a Pennsylvania jury reached a verdict last week, awarding Hanes $870,000, including $250,000 in punitive damages, according to Hanes’ attorney, Braden Lepisto.

“This case, I understand why it kind of went viral just because of what is involved, but the reality is, it’s a condition that has affected my client significantly,” Lepisto told the Washington Post.

“Although some people may see it as kind of laughing matter initially, the award was completely justified based on the evidence and the toll that it’s taken on Steve.”

To this day, he added, “it’s still not totally clear” how the mistake occurred in the operating room.

“The doctor gave an explanation that really made no anatomical or medical sense,” Lepisto said. “He claimed that he removed the testicle that was on the right side of the scrotum and the testicle had a spermatic cord that led to the left side of the body.

“Essentially, the doctor claimed that the testicles had switched sides at some point.”

Lepisto said the jury — which comprised 11 women and one man — deliberated for about 1 hour 20 minutes before siding with the plaintiff.