Texas Man Sues Hospital After Falling Off Table Twice During Surgery

Pain after surgery is normal, but when a Texas man woke up with two black eyes, a split lip, and a bruised jaw, he knew something was very wrong.

Robert Powell is suing Houston Methodist’s Willowbrook facility after hospital staffers allowed him to slip not once, but twice, off the operating table, KPRC reported.

Powell was undergoing surgery to repair a hernia in August 2020. According to his lawsuit, the surgical team tied his legs to the operating table the first time he fell.

That didn't work and he fell a second time, which resulted in injuries to his face, head, and shoulders.

He says he's still feeling the effects of those injuries today and has had to seek neuropsychological treatment.

“I don’t have as much memory as I did before. My vocabulary has suffered. I have chronic headaches," he told the Houston news station.

The fall has also left Powell in an awkward position because he works for the Willowbrook facility as kitchen aide. Despite being at the hospital on a regular basis, he says no one has spoken to him about the fall.

“No one from Methodist has yet to come up to me and say anything. It’s like they don’t even acknowledge the fact that I fell off the table," he said.

Houston Methodist told KPRC that it doesn't comment on current lawsuits.

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