A woman delivered a baby and during the delivery, several sponges were used to stop bleeding. One of the sponges was left inside the woman and, for three weeks, she complained to her doctor's office that she had terrible pain and a foul odor. The doctor's office repeatedly gave poor advice over the phone and it was not until the patient insisted that she be seen that the sponge was discovered. To add insult to injury, the doctor and his office offered to settle the case for $2,500 and told the woman that no lawyer would represent her.

The patient was referred to us by another lawyer who had heard of our success earlier this year against INOVA Fairfax Hospital in a "sponge" case. We accepted the case and filed it. Almost immediately the doctors lawyer called us up and wanted to settle the case. A few weeks later we had negotiated a $20,000 settlement on behalf of the woman.