2 SoCal Hospitals Fined For Leaving Surgical Equipment Inside Patients

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — USC's Keck Hospital and the Motion Picture & Television Hospital in Woodland Hills were each fined by the California Department of Public Health for cases of surgical equipment being left inside patients, the state announced Friday.

Keck Hospital was fined $75,000, while MPTH was fined $50,000. For the Motion Picture Hospital, the administrative fine was its first. It was the third for Keck, according to the state.

The Keck fine stemmed from a 2010 operation in which a small "electrocautery tip" was left inside the patient, who needed to undergo a second procedure to have the item removed, according to the Department of Public Health.

The MPTH fine was the result of a 2010 knee operation, with a surgical sponge being left inside the patient, CDPH reported.

The hospitals were among 13 across the state that were fined a total of $825,000.

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