Noticing all the cuts of an appendicitis operation: they report an error in the anesthesia at the Hospital de Granollers

BarcelonaRoger Ferrer has been waiting for years for a response to his claim regarding medical negligence. In February 2022, he underwent an appendectomy at the Granollers Hospital and an error in the machine that supplied his anesthesia caused him to feel the incisions during the entire operation, even though his muscles were sedated and he could not move or warn about what was happening. "I felt the pain of the operation's incisions and them probing. I lived an experience of death in life and I haven't been the same since," he explained in an interview with Eldiario.es.Accompanied by his lawyer, Lucia Gonzalez-Cuevas, he initiated an administrative claim, a mandatory procedure in cases like this before being able to file a lawsuit. The lawyer explains to ARA that the goal is for the administration to acknowledge negligence and compensate Ferrer for the psychological aftermath he still carries today and which have caused him to leave his job as an educator with minors under guardianship. "He has claustrophobia, he is on alert for everything," explains the lawyer.

Administrative silence

Gonzalez-Cuevas clarifies that the claim is not directed against the anesthesiologist or any specific professional, but solely against the administration. The process remains stalled and Gonzalez-Cuevas reports that the response from the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) has so far continued to be administrative silence. In the administrative claim, they did not request a specific amount because when they filed it, Ferrer was still on sick leave, and the count of days of incapacity influences the calculation of the compensation. The amount claimed also influences the procedure for claims like this one. When the figure exceeds 50,000 euros, as Gonzalez-Cuevas anticipates, before ruling, the ICS must request a report from the Catalan Institute of Medical Evaluations (ICAM).

So far, Ferrer has not received a response to his claim. Gonzalez-Cuevas explains that he has also contacted the Ombudsman and that this very Wednesday he insisted again to the ICS, demanding a response that puts an end to the administrative silence.

However, sources from the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) assert that they referred the complaint to CatSalut and that the Granollers hospital is not managed by the ICS.