A Maine woman has been awarded $17 million after a catastrophic surgical error resulted in the removal of her bladder during a procedure intended to address a benign ovarian cyst.The damages were awarded to Emily Mitchell last Thursday by a Kennebec County jury following a two-week medical malpractice trial against Northern Light Inland Hospital and Northern Light Health, according to her attorneys on Friday.The verdict is reportedly the largest medical malpractice award in Kennebec County.The devastating procedure occurred on March 1, 2023, and resulted in what Mitchell’s attorneys described as an irreversible injury with extreme health repercussions that are still ongoing."According to evidence presented at trial, what began as a routine gynecologic surgery resulted in one of the most devastating surgical errors imaginable," Berman & Simmons said in a statement.FORMER UCLA GYNECOLOGIST SENTENCED AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO SEXUALLY ASSAULTING PATIENTS AT SCHOOLNorthern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville closed in May 2025.
(Google Maps)Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville officially closed in May 2025 after serving the community for more than 80 years, according to the state.The healthcare system cited "immense pressure of higher operational costs, unsustainably low reimbursement rates, and a tight labor market" as factors behind the closure in a statement issued that month.According to the attorneys, Michell scheduled the surgery after imaging showed that a benign ovarian cyst had significantly increased in size.'I THOUGHT I HAD THE FLU': MOM NEARLY DIED AFTER DISMISSING DEADLY SEPSIS SYMPTOMSFILE - Emily Mitchell won a record medical malpractice verdict after a devastating surgical mistake left her permanently dependent on ongoing treatment.(iStock)Following the procedure, Mitchell’s condition worsened, and she was transferred to another hospital for emergency surgery.Surgeons later discovered that her bladder had been removed during the original...