Slater

FACTS & PROCEDURE

The Complaint Slater’s complaint against Armada alleged a single cause of action for medical malpractice. She alleged that on February 23, 2011, she was admitted to San Antonio Community Hospital (San Antonio), where Armada performed an exploratory laparotomy to remove lesions, adhesions, and a possible cyst from around her bowel. After the surgery, Armada informed Slater the surgery was successful and there had been no complications. That night, Slater began experiencing intense pain but when she told Armada, he dismissed her pain as minor and badgered her with rude comments about being fat. Slater learned from medical personnel at San Antonio that she had suffered a perforated bowel during the course of the surgery. Slater was discharged from San Antonio on February 26, 2011, and had a follow up appointment with Armada on March 3 when he again insisted she was fine, despite her complaints of pain. Over the next few days, Slater experienced increasingly severe pain and began showing signs of serious infection at the site of the surgical incision. On March 7, she was taken to the San Antonio emergency room, re-admitted, and underwent emergency surgery by Dr.…