Whether it’s for your annual checkup or a major surgery, seeking medical attention can be a scary thing. You may feel sick, you might be afraid of needles, or you could be dreading the big bill at the end. But like it or not, we all have to do it. Even if it’s scary, most people tend to trust their doctors, hoping they will first do no harm. Yet, in some chilling instances, the doctors cause harm. This roundup of 10 more cases shines a light on the darkest corners of modern medicine.
1 Seeds Of Doubt
Usually used for a bit of light‑hearted fun, DNA kits have exploded in popularity over the past few years. The idea of discovering you might be 1 percent Black or that you’re more Estonian than Irish feels like a harmless party trick that rarely reshapes lives. But when Carrie tried one, the results turned her world upside‑down. She always believed she was an only child, yet the test revealed she had at least eight half‑siblings.
At the same time, two other women—Jacoba and Kristy—tracked each other down through a donor‑matching website. Their own DNA tests exposed a tangled web of unexpected siblings. The common thread? All of their parents had once visited the fertility clinic of Dr. Donald Cline.
Dr. Cline had promised each couple that the sperm they received came from a young medical student and would never be used more than three times. In reality, the not‑so‑young doctor had been slipping his own sperm into patients’ cycles for at least eight years, possibly as many as fifty times. He admitted the wrongdoing, claiming he only wanted to help people have children and that he never imagined DNA testing would become so advanced.
2 Witch Doctor
When you seek help for mental or physical health, you naturally assume the professional you see is qualified. Dr. Letitia Libman, however, showed that “qualified” does not always equal “professional.” While employed as a psychologist at Delnor‑Community Hospital in Illinois, she faced four separate lawsuits alleging she used witchcraft during therapy sessions.
Shelley Standau was the first to speak out, claiming Libman taught her a slew of witch spells promising happiness and success. When the spells failed, Standau sued for $1 million. Deanna Whetstine, living with chronic pain from nerve damage, reported that Libman resorted to psychic powers, tarot cards, love potions, and even gun threats. Their relationship escalated to the point where Deanna briefly lived with Libman, yet the unconventional methods produced no therapeutic benefit, prompting a $50,000 lawsuit.
Kathleen Carlson, dealing with a divorce, sued for $50,000 after Libman allegedly suggested stealing her ex‑husband’s DNA to curse him. Kenneth Sutter, another patient, claimed Libman tried to convert him to Wicca, urging him to contact the dead and replace his medication with Native American herbs. Libman denied the accusations, resigning quickly and describing herself as a “spiritual eclectic” with Native American influences.
3 Wrong Organ
Surgeons occasionally mistake one half of a paired organ for the other—think swapping a left eye for a right one. Dr. Patrick M. McEnaney, a respected surgeon from Milford, Massachusetts, managed a different kind of slip‑up. In 2006, he was scheduled to remove a patient’s gallbladder, an organ that looks like a small pear. Instead, he mistakenly excised a kidney, a bulky, lopsided square.
Milford Regional Medical Center initially kept McEnaney’s name under wraps, but the state medical board eventually disclosed it when his license was suspended. Oddly, the board later lifted the suspension, placing him on five‑year probation instead, labeling the error “serious” yet “rare.” The 84‑year‑old woman who underwent the operation fully recovered, but the incident sparked a debate about oversight and accountability.
4 Unassisted Dying Facility
Choosing an assisted‑living facility for a loved one is a heart‑wrenching decision. Lydia Scherrer faced that choice after her husband Earl suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car crash at age 26. Earl lingered in a coma for 16 months, then woke up. Lydia devoted herself to his rehabilitation, teaching him to speak again and using elementary‑school textbooks to stimulate his mind. For a decade, she was the devoted, tireless wife many stories glorify.
In 2006, Lydia moved Earl to a higher‑level facility promising round‑the‑clock care. Just a month later, Earl vomited a black substance and died in Lydia’s arms. The facility claimed they were providing diligent care, yet their charts showed they logged treatments on days Earl wasn’t even present. An investigation uncovered a phantom caregiver named “Raul” and a cascade of falsified records.
The autopsy revealed a bizarre collection of man‑made objects—unopened ketchup packets, paper towels, plastic bags, candy wrappers—inside Earl’s stomach. How those items entered his body remains a mystery, but the case culminated in an $11 million payout, the largest ever against an Arizona assisted‑living facility.
5 Group Therapy
Medical malpractice isn’t limited to physical injuries; it can also scar the mind. Nadean Cool’s case illustrates how a psychiatrist can exploit a multiple‑personality diagnosis. Dr. Kenneth Olson correctly identified Cool’s disorder, even cataloguing a staggering 120 distinct personalities, ranging from the Devil to a duck.
Olson allegedly saw a financial opportunity, switching Cool’s therapy from one‑on‑one sessions to group therapy, racking up $300,000 in fees. Over six years, he is accused of implanting false memories—an imagined abortion, fabricated childhood sexual abuse, and even a phantom grave‑pushing incident. These invented recollections triggered terrifying flashbacks, leaving Cool shaken despite knowing they were fabricated.
Cool eventually sued Olson and the hospital where she was treated. The lawsuit settled for $2.4 million in 1997, highlighting how mental‑health malpractice can be as damaging as any physical injury.
6 Structurally Inadequate
In 1983, Cheryl Sexton Dillon was told she needed a hysterectomy. In truth, a bladder surgery would have sufficed. Dr. James C. Burt—dubbed the “love doctor”—had the credentials to perform either operation, but his motives lay elsewhere. In his 1975 book, Burt argued women were “structurally inadequate” for sex, a claim he purported could be fixed surgically.
Without consent, Burt began reconstructing women’s vaginal canals during unrelated procedures. In Cheryl’s case, he repositioned her vagina and removed her clitoris, claiming the changes would enhance sexual satisfaction. The result was excruciating pain; Cheryl reported being unable to sit or wear trousers without agony.
Seeking a second opinion weeks later, Cheryl encountered descriptions like “mutilated,” “filleted,” and “like African tribes.” She endured three corrective surgeries, yet the damage persisted, ultimately contributing to the collapse of her 12‑year marriage. Burt’s medical license was revoked in the late 1980s, but he never faced criminal charges; the hospital settled out of court.
7 Burning Sensation
Even with safe‑sex practices, the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) remains. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most pervasive STIs worldwide; it spreads via skin contact even when condoms are used and often shows no symptoms. While a vaccine exists, many individuals never receive it, meaning a large portion of the sexually active population will encounter the virus at some point.
When Kim Morrison tested positive for HPV, doctors also screened her husband, William. Men undergoing HPV testing have the suspect area swabbed with acetic acid—typically a mild 3‑5 percent solution used in ear drops. However, nurse Lisa Parsons applied a shocking 72 percent concentration, causing severe pain, chemical burns, and lasting physical and psychological trauma.
While the acid didn’t literally dissolve William, the ordeal left him in agonizing distress. The case underscores how even routine procedures can go awry, especially when standard protocols are ignored.
8 In The Wake
Anesthesia awareness occurs when a patient remains fully conscious during surgery but cannot move or speak. Roughly 0.1–0.2 percent of U.S. surgery patients—about 20,000 to 40,000 each year—experience this terrifying phenomenon. It happens because two types of anesthesia are used: one to immobilize the body and another to induce sleep. If the latter fails, the patient is trapped, aware of everything yet unable to react.
In 2006, 73‑year‑old Sherman Sizemore underwent exploratory surgery. The anesthesiologist delayed administering the sleep‑inducing drug for a full 16 minutes, leaving Sizemore fully conscious throughout the procedure. He never learned of the mistake, and his mind spiraled into paranoia, convinced that people were trying to bury him alive.
Weeks later, the mental torment became unbearable, leading Sizemore to take his own life. Had he been told the truth, he might have sought counseling and avoided the tragedy. He became the first documented case of anesthesia awareness culminating in suicide.
9 Quaid Twins
Being hospitalized can be frightening, especially when newborns are involved. Actor Dennis Quaid thought his twins were fine after a brief phone call from Cedars‑Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In reality, the staff were frantically trying to save the infants, who had been readmitted for a minor infection.
The twins, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, received an accidental 1,000‑fold overdose of heparin, a blood‑thinner that caused them to bleed profusely. Without informing the parents, the hospital staff unilaterally reversed the overdose, stripping the Quaids of any say in their children’s care. When the twins were finally examined, they were covered in bruises; blood spurted from Thomas up to 1.5 meters away.
Both infants survived, thanks to swift medical intervention. The error stemmed from pharmacy technicians mixing vials containing 10,000 units per milliliter with those holding only 10 units per milliliter, and a nurse admitting she failed to double‑check the vials. Two days later, a staff member leaked the story to TMZ, sparking a media frenzy that added further trauma to the family.
10 Seventh Time Unlucky
The first successful organ transplant—a kidney swap between twins—took place in Boston in 1954. Since then, transplantation has advanced dramatically, yet the procedure remains a high‑stakes operation: organs must be harvested instantly, implanted correctly, and accepted by the recipient’s immune system. With long waiting lists worldwide, there’s zero margin for error.
In 2015, Wales introduced an opt‑out system, making every resident a donor unless they explicitly declined. Within six months, over half of donations came from people who hadn’t actively opted in or out, signaling a promising future for organ donation.
This policy shift followed a tragic 2013 incident: two men died after receiving kidneys harvested from a homeless, alcoholic donor. The University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff was told the kidneys were in “poor” condition and that the donor’s cause of death was unknown. Six other hospitals—Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, and Sheffield—had already rejected the organs.
Instead of heeding the red flags, the Cardiff surgeons seized the kidneys, concealing the fact that the donor suffered meningitis caused by a rare parasitic kidney worm—only the fifth documented case worldwide. While the surgeons later apologized, noting “hindsight is a great thing,” the tragedy underscored the dire consequences of overlooking warning signs in transplantation.