Lawsuit claims Emory doctors left camera in body

Lost device was used during organ transplant in 2014.

A woman has filed suit against Emory University Hospital, alleging that doctors left a camera in her body during an organ transplant.

The suit, filed in DeKalb County State Court this week, claims the hospital and doctors were negligent. The hospital didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Lacrystal Lockett of Stone Mountain went into surgery on Dec. 17, 2014, for a kidney and pancreatic transplant, according to the suit.

Dr. Paul Lu Tso, assisted by doctors Ronald Parsons and Denise J. Lo, performed the procedure with the assistance of a medical camera, the suit says.

“Unbeknownst to Ms. Lockett at the time,” her lawyers claim, “this medical instrument was left inside Ms. Lockett even after she was discharged from Emory University Hospital on December 26, 2014.”

The lost device didn’t turn up in her torso until the following June during an exam at the hospital.

She had another surgery to remove it.

“As a result of Defendants’ negligence, Plaintiff Lacrystal Lockett suffered undue hardship through additional surgical procedures and has incurred medical expenses as well as significant pain and suffering, future pain and suffering, and lost wages,” the suit alleges.

Lockett is asking for a jury to determine how much she’s owed.