BELLEVILLE – Heartland Women's Healthcare is at the center of a lawsuit following a procedure that allegedly led to a woman's injuries.
Amy and Nicholas Giacomo filed suit Dec. 16 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against the Heartland Women's Healthcare and Dr. Debra Carson. The lawsuit names Dr. Joel Kwan Barrientos and Dr. Jeffrey Larson as respondents in discovery after they allegedly performed procedures to rectify the alleged damage.
According to the lawsuit, prior to Giacomo's procedure, she was evaluated and her medical history was acquired, which revealed she had certain previous medical procedures and issues. The complaint claims that a number of negligent acts occurred, including that the procedure should not have been carried out and that other mistakes were made.
"She negligently performed the procedure by failing to properly locate and protect the ureters, and failing to locate and protect other structures in and around the area of the surgery," the lawsuit states.
These alleged negligent acts led to injuries and further medical care was needed, according to the lawsuit.
Her husband, Nicholas, claims he suffered a decrease in his wife's love, affection and society, and will incur expenses due to his wife's alleged injuries.
Heartland Women's Healthcare did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Record.
The plaintiffs, who are seeking in excess of $50,000, are represented by John Womick of the Womick Law Firm in Herrin.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 2019-L-906