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Woman Sues Hospital After Frightening Discovery of Camera Left Inside Her During Surgery

Lacrystal Lockett says the device was left in her torso for six months.

A Georgia woman filed a lawsuit against Emory University Hospital after doctors allegedly left a camera in her body following a surgery. 

According to the suit, filed in DeKalb County State Court this week, Lacrystal Lockett of Stone Mountain says the hospital and doctors were negligent during her 2014 kidney and pancreatic transplants, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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. After they discovered the device, Lockett had to have 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.

Lockett has a longstanding history of medical issues. On a fundraising page started by her friend Latisha Smith, Lockett’s health history is detailed.  

“LaCrystal was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes at the age of 7. Since then, complications have followed, including:

"In 2010, LaCrystal went blind in one eye

"In 2012, LaCrystal was diagnosed with kidney failure

"Also in 2012, She had a stroke that paralyzed her left side (which she battled to recover!!! yay),” read the GoFundMe page. 

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