Former NC Doctor To Pay $6M In Malpractice Suit

Oct. 17--LUMBERTON -- A former Fayetteville doctor has been ordered to pay more than $6 million in a malpractice lawsuit that ended last week.

Geraldine Nicholson of Lumber Bridge died Oct. 12, 2006, after spending nearly a year in the hospital with complications after surgery to remove cancerous tissue in her rectum and colon, according to the lawsuit filed May 21, 2008.

Dr. Arleen Kaye Thom, a general surgeon who no longer practices medicine, left a surgical sponge in Nicholson's abdomen that was not discovered until 10 weeks after the initial surgery, the lawsuit said.

The 18-by-18-inch sponge caused infections and illness that prevented Nicholson from receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatment for the cancer that ultimately killed her, said Lumberton lawyer J.W. Musselwhite, who represented Nicholson's family.

"As a result of the negligence of Dr. Thom, (Nicholson) received absolutely no treatment for the cancer that placed her in the doctor's care in the first place," Musselwhite said.

Musselwhite said the lawsuit was not a wrongful-death suit but one of negligence and inadequate care.

"(Thom) failed to examine the abdominal cavity for surgical sponges," he said. "She did not check with the nurse that an adequate sponge count had been completed."

Musselwhite said that since the incident, Thom has denied responsibility.

Thom and her lawyers could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

Nicholson, the mother of three and a wife of 35 years, was 56 when she died.

A Robeson County jury on Oct. 10 ordered Thom to pay nearly $5.1 million to Nicholson's estate and $750,000 to Nicholson's husband, Stephen.

Musselwhite said the doctor or her insurance company also will have to cover legal fees and prejudgment interest that has accumulated since 2008, which will amount to more than $1 million.

A spokesman for Cape Fear Valley Health System said Thom had not been on the medical center's staff for several years.

According to the North Carolina Medical Board, Thom's medical license is inactive.

Musselwhite said Thom testified that she had become disabled after Nicholson's surgery and no longer practices medicine.

Staff writer Ali Rockett can be reached at rocketta@fayobserver.com or 486-3528.

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