Eight-Month Erection Leads To Lawsuit

A man who suffered an eight-month erection is suing his doctor for malpractice.

Daniel Metzgar, 44, lived with an eight-month erection and a scrotum the size of a volleyball after being fitted with a three-piece inflatable penile implant, by Dr. Thomas J. Desperito, in December 2009.

According to his lawyer, Michael C. Heyden, the Newark truck driver had difficulty performing everyday tasks, such as collecting his newspaper or riding his motorcycle, as the erection persisted.

As Heyden stated during Monday’s opening statements in New castle Country Superior Court: “Dan [was] stuck in this position.”

“I could hardly dance, with an erection poking my partner,” said Metzgar.

Attorneys for Desperito, who has denied responsibility for Metzgar’s prolonged discomfort, claim that bad results can occasionally occur through no fault of the medical practitioner. They suggested Metzgar should have known something had gone wrong after the surgery, as his scrotum swelling to the size of a volleyball, however, he did not inform anyone until April 2010 – four months after the implant was fitted.

Colleen D. Shields, attorney for the Wilmington urologist, claims Desperito made it clear that the prosthesis should be removed, but that Metzgar did nothing in the months following the April 2010 visit.

Eventually, during an August 2010 family trip to Niagara Falls, a piece of tubing from the implant punctured Metzgar’s scrotum, forcing him to drive back to Warder, where he underwent the surgery to remove the prosthesis.

During Monday’s testimony, Metzgar (picture above, left, with his lawyer, Heyden) told jurors the procedure, and resulting eight-month erection, caused him to withdraw from normal life, forcing him to wear baggy pants and a longer shirt to hide the uncomfortable situation.

“It’s not something you want to bring out at parties and show to friends,” he explained.

Metzgar also testified that since the removal of his first implant, he has opted for a brand new prosthesis from another doctor. However, while this device is fully functional, the scar tissue from his previous surgeries has left him less sensitive in the area and 50 percent smaller.

For the distress of enduring an eight-month erection, Metzgar and his wife, Donna, are seeking unspecified damages from Desperito and his medical group.

[Image via ShutterStock]