- Petitioner
- Mariter Mendoza
- Respondent
- Adriano Casumpang
- Citation
- G.R. No. 197987
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- Third Division
- Ponente
- Abad, J.
- Decided
- March 19, 2012
Summary
This medical malpractice case involved Dr. Mariter Mendoza's negligence in leaving surgical gauze inside Josephine Casumpang's body after performing hysterectomy and myomectomy in 1993. Three months post-surgery, another physician discovered and extracted a foul-smelling gauze from Josephine's cervix. The Supreme Court affirmed that leaving foreign materials in a patient's body constitutes prima facie negligence, rejecting Dr. Mendoza's defense based on surgical sponge counts. The Court awarded the deceased patient's heirs actual damages (P50,000), moral damages (P200,000), exemplary damages (P50,000), civil indemnity (P50,000), and attorney's fees (P50,000). The case establishes important precedent regarding surgical negligence and the surgeon's responsibility to personally verify instrument and material counts before closing incisions.