Cates v. Bald Estate

This is a medical malpractice case. The original malpractice charged occurred in 1949. A surgical needle 4 to 5 centimeters long was left in the lower quadrant of plaintiff’s abdomen. The operating surgeon is deceased.

The specific grounds of negligence seem to be fraudulent concealment of the presence of the needle from the patient. This despite the fact that there is the admission in plaintiff wife’s deposition that she told two of the treating doctors of the presence of the needle over the period specifically in 1962 and in 1969.

As to defendant Ford Hospital it is alleged that in…