New London doctor fined $5K for surgical mistake
The state Medical Examining Board fined a New London obstetrician $5,000 Tuesday for mistakenly cutting ligaments on the sides of a woman's uterus instead of the fallopian tubes during a tubal ligation.
The board also imposed a year of probation on the medical license of Dr. Jeffrey Simpson, who made the error on March 28, 2013, at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London. Simpson did not contest the findings of the medical board and signed a consent order agreeing to the penalty on Oct. 24 of this year.
Simpson also agreed to hire a physician to randomly review a portion of his patient records for surgeries he performed, the consent order said. The physician will monitor Simpson's practice for a year.
A state Department of Public Health memorandum dated May 7, 2013, said the error occurred while Simpson was performing a cesarean section and a tubal ligation on a patient. A pathologist at the hospital was reviewing a tissue specimen Simpson had removed and determined it was not from a fallopian tube, the memo states. The error was reported to DPH, which began an investigation of Simpson on May 8, 2013.
Simpson attended the meeting but did not speak and Simpson's lawyer, Tom Boyce of New London, declined to comment Tuesday.
Mike O'Farrell, a spokesman for L+M, said Simpson remains a member in good standing on the medical staff but declined to comment further.
In 2001, the medical board had fined Simpson $1,000 for not obtaining written consent for an artificial insemination procedure, state records show.
This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org).
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