Tulsa, Oklahoma—William Paul Boykin has filed suit against Dr. Carl Painter III of Bailey Medical Center because he alleges the doctor operated on the wrong knee. Furthermore, Boykin also contends that he was still groggy from the anesthesia when he agreed to a plan to correct the error.
Boykin originally went to the Bailey Medical Center to have an arthroscopic tear repaired. After the procedure, he was wheeled into a recovery room and hospital personnel then told him that the doctor had operated on the wrong knee. While still under the effects of anesthesia, Boykin agreed to a second surgery on the correct knee. However, according to Boykin’s attorney, because he wasn’t completely coherent it is questionable whether or not his granting of permission meets the legal guidelines for “implied consent”.
Boykin is undergoing treatment to repair the damage to the wrong knee and he might need a full knee replacement. Dr. Painter had no previous disciplinary problems in Oklahoma. However, Boykin’s attorney says the case is “one of the most bizarre he’s seen in nearly 30 years as a medical malpractice attorney”. Specifically, he’s not quite sure how the doctor operated on the wrong knee—the knee he was supposed to operate on had “yes” printed on it with black Magic Marker.
