TAMPA -- A husband and wife are suing doctors and a health care institute for medical malpractice after an allegedly botched surgery that resulted in amputation.
Charise Payne and husband Melvin Payne filed a complaint on June 17 in Hillsborough County Circuit Court against Musculoskeletal Institute, Florida Orthopedic Institute, David Donohue, M.D. and Roy Sander, M.D. for medical malpractice and loss of marital consortium.
According to the complaint, Charise Payne presented to St. Joseph’s Hospital on January 6, 2020, following a fall that resulted in fracture of her right lower leg, and the emergency room found her having suffered right distal tibia and fibular fractures.
Allegedly, on Jan. 7, 2020, Dr. Donohue recommended surgery, which was performed later that afternoon, and Payne left the operating room with a “pink, well perfused foot.” Payne had a follow up appointment on Jan. 22, 2020, during which Dr. Donohue noted dusky colored skin on the dorsum and plantar aspects of the forefoot, the suit says.
On Feb. 5, 2020, Payne reported that her foot was not getting better, and in fact, was doing worse until Feb. 10, 2020, when Payne presented her case to Dr. Halpern's office, the suit says.
There, she was diagnosed with gangrenous right foot, along with the presence of a foul odor, sloughing, necrosis, and a non-healing surgical wound which ultimately ended in a below-the-knee amputation, the suit says. The Paynes say it is due to Dr. Donohue's negligence that Mrs. Payne had to ultimately suffer an amputation.
The Paynes seek trail by jury and damages. The Paynes are represented by Jack T. Cook of Morgan and Morgan P.A.