Inset: Emily Mitchell (Berman & Simmons law firm). Background: The now-closed Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville, Maine (Google Maps).
A Maine woman whose bladder was "mistakenly removed" during what was supposed to be a "routine surgery" to remove a benign ovarian cyst has been awarded $17 million by a jury after a medical malpractice trial over what her attorneys called one of the most catastrophic surgical errors imaginable.
A Kennebec County jury on July 23 found Northern Light Inland Hospital and Northern Light Health liable for the March 2023 operation and awarded Emily Mitchell damages for past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and permanent impairment, according to court records and a news release from her attorneys.
The case stemmed from a laparoscopic procedure performed March 1, 2023, after imaging showed Mitchell's benign ovarian cyst had grown significantly. Instead of removing the cyst, evidence presented during the two-week trial showed the surgeon mistakenly removed Mitchell's bladder.
Mitchell's condition rapidly deteriorated after the procedure, prompting her transfer to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for emergency surgery. There, surgeons discovered her bladder had been removed during the original operation. Pathology later confirmed the tissue taken during the surgery consisted of full-thickness bladder tissue, and surgeons determined there was not enough healthy tissue remaining to reconstruct or repair the organ, according to her attorneys.
The mistake set off months of painful complications. For more than eight months, Mitchell relied on catheters that drained urine directly from her kidneys while she endured repeated urinary tract infections, kidney infections, multiple medical procedures and other complications.
She was eventually referred to specialists in Massachusetts, where surgeons performed a complex reconstructive operation using a portion of her small intestine to create what essentially functions as a bladder.
Even after the reconstruction, Mitchell continues to live with permanent injuries. She must self-catheterize several times each day and requires ongoing treatment and specialist care because of the loss of her bladder, her attorneys said.
After hearing two weeks of testimony, jurors found Northern Light Inland Hospital and its parent organization, Northern Light Health, liable for Mitchell's injuries and returned the $17 million verdict. According to her attorneys, it is the largest medical malpractice verdict ever returned in Kennebec County.
"For our clients, this isn't just a legal victory — it's the closure they've needed for a long time," attorney Susan A. Faunce said in a statement. "They can finally begin to move forward, knowing that what happened to them was seen, heard, and acknowledged. This verdict won't undo the pain our clients have endured, but it does offer something they haven't had in a long time: closure. They can finally put this chapter behind them."
Co-counsel Travis M. Brennan said the verdict followed years of waiting for accountability.
"Our clients have waited a long time for this measure of justice, and today the jury delivered it," he said.
Northern Light Health said it respects the jury's decision while acknowledging the outcome of Mitchell's care.
"Every patient who comes to our organization deserves safe, compassionate, and high-quality care," Senior Vice President Suzanne Spruce said in a statement provided to The Morning Sentinel. "When outcomes fall short of those expectations, we take them very seriously. We are committed to continuously evaluating our care, our systems, and our processes to identify opportunities to improve safety and the care provided to our patients."
The lawsuit did not name the surgeon individually. The Morning Sentinel reported the physician is no longer employed by Northern Light Health.
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