Last year, an Iowa family filed a lawsuit against Iowa City-based ASC ENT Medical Services and one of its physicians after their 2-year-old son died following a routine procedure. The couple has now added the state of Iowa as a third defendant in the case, according to an Oct. 2 report from The Gazette.
The 2-year-old died after a routine procedure to put tubes in his ears and remove his adenoids.
The amendment alleges that the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, overseen by the state of Iowa, allowed a resident to be involved in the child's operation without informing or receiving consent from the family.
"Through the course of discovery, information relating to an additional potentially liable party has come to the plaintiffs' attention," the amendment reads.
According to the lawsuit, Thomas Simpson, MD, an otolaryngologist and chair of the Iowa City Ambulatory Surgery Center's board of directors, was the primary surgeon for the procedure. It alleges he was assisted by fourth-year medical resident Ryan Smith, MD.
The amended lawsuit alleges that Dr. Smith never identified himself to the child's mother as someone who would be involved in the procedure.
In previous court documents, Dr. Simpson and the ASC have denied many of the allegations made against them.