Children’s Hospital Sued After 4-Year-Old Was Accidentally Given A Vasectomy

The surgeon and risk management staff at Texas Children's Hospital advised the parents of the error and the possible short and long term consequences that the child would suffer.

The family is now suing Dr Jarosz and Texas Children's Hospital for $500,000 ($AUD 724,000, £415,000) in damages, which is the maximum amount of money a party can be awarded in such an incident.

"There is a possibility that he may have to utilise assisted reproduction services to conceive. These are all considerations that the typical four-year-old does not have."

"The standard procedure is to properly identify the anatomy, and then you cut. I think the surgeon failed to properly identify the anatomy before cutting," he said.

"I've seen this mistake happen in different cases, but never a surgeon who cuts the vas deferens of a four-year-old."

He added: "That's very rare, but it's pretty simple. You properly identify the anatomy before you cut it." 

The family fears the accidental snip will have a large impact on the boy and any of his future partners; so much so that they have elected to remain anonymous.

"The worst long term effect is the impact on the four-year-old's reproductive process that will require him to go through artificial reproductive procedures," Sorrels said.

"I don't think it'll be an impossibility to have children, but it could make it more difficult."