CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The family of a woman who died after complications from surgery have filed a lawsuit against the Medical University of South Carolina and one of their doctors claiming their medical malpractice and negligence led to her death.
The lawsuit claims that Virginia Billingsley died from complications after having catheterization surgery performed by Dr. Ravi Veeraswamy.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday by Allen and Betty Billingsley, the children of Virginia Billingsley.
The lawsuit references a string of events that ultimately led to their mother’s death on June 9, 2023. The suit claims MUSC was negligent and careless in the first surgery and failed to recognize the issues after.
The lawsuit states that in the fall of 2022, Billingsley had medical tests done which unveiled she had an abdominal aortic aneurysm and had a catheterization on Valentine’s Day the next year.
According to the lawsuit, Veeraswamy performed the catheterization and during it, opted for a coil embolization of the celiac artery during the surgery, according to documents.
The lawsuit then states that unbeknownst to Veeraswamy, that decision ultimately compromised blood flow to Billingsley’s gastrointestinal organs.
Billingsley was discharged the following day by Veeraswamy, which marked the start of her decline over the next few months.
The lawsuit said when Billingsley returned home, she started experiencing the following symptoms: discomfort, sharp pains, fatigue, acid reflux, pain when eating, a lack of appetite and no bowel movement for weeks.
The lawsuit alleges that in the days following her surgery, her loved ones tried calling Veeraswamy’s office due to the amount of pain and discomfort Billingsley was experiencing. However, those employees told family members that if Billingsley’s stomach was not bruised, she should be fine, but her symptoms persisted.
According to documents, Billingsley was transported to Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital ten days later, where she was diagnosed with a UTI, given an antibiotic, and was discharged the same day.
Billingsley visited the Emergency Room for a fourth time on March 29, where Grand Strand Regional Medical Center doctors diagnosed her complication from the abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery, and explained that her issues from the initial surgery Veeraswamy performed, closed or cut off blood supply to her stomach and gall bladder. Medical staff then ordered Billingsley’s gall bladder to be removed.
She was discharged from Grand Strand Regional Medical Center on April 4 but made it back to the MUSC emergency department the next month where she got in touch with the original doctor. Documents said Veeraswamy told Billingsley that other providers called him about her complications, but he thought it was just a woman who had gall bladder surgery and he quote “didn’t think much of it”.
During this ER visit, doctors recommended Billingsley have a catheterization procedure to attempt to open her artery, which they unsuccessfully performed on April 12.
The lawsuit then said due to the failed surgery attempt, Billingsley had two options going forward: either cut open the abdomen and reroute an artery from the spleen, leg, or possibly a plastic one, and then remove her gall bladder and possibly spleen. The other option was no surgery, but Billingsley would need a feeding tube for the rest of her life.
According to documents, the family had Billingsley’s feeding tube placed on April 13, and surgery was scheduled for April 20, but was canceled because Billingsley developed a C. Difficile infection.
Documents state that she was discharged on April 24th, but returned to the MUSC emergency room again on May 6 for surgery and was told she might have a blood infection.
On May 12, doctors completed Billingsley’s surgery where they used a vein from her leg so that blood could flow to her abdomen, and attempted to remove her gall bladder but said it was “non-existent”.
The lawsuit states Billingsley suffered incredible amounts of pain post-operation and was sent home on hospice on May 29.
Documents state that just a few days later Billingsley passed away at her home.
The lawsuit said the defendants failed to appropriately follow up on and appreciate Billingsley’s deteriorating condition stating, “Individually, a series of mistakes were made by MUSC physicians and staff that resulted in Billingsley’s pain, suffering, death. As a result, Ms. Billingsley suffered from surgical complications that ultimately led to her death.”
We reached out to MUSC for a statement regarding this situation, but have not heard back.
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Family sues MUSC claiming medical malpractice and negligence led to woman’s death
