A man is pressing charges against the Atlanta VA Medical Center after he says a prescribed sleeping medication caused him to have an erection for hours, reported CBS46.com.
"When they admitted him, he had to be hospitalized for 10 days," said patient Edward Stalling's attorney, Jonathan Johnson. "It's not functional as a sex organ, and he has trouble urinating.”
Stalling said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and has taken medication to help him sleep for some time. Doctors prescribed the medication that he said caused the lasting erection— Trazodone— in December.
"I took it that night, and the next day I woke up with that problem," Stalling told CBS 46.
When Stalling arrived at the hospital, doctors made a spectacle of his condition. Many stopped by just to see.
"One had mentioned that I should line up all the women," Stalling said. "I haven't had that many people who had seen it in my whole life, until I went to that hospital."
The VA released a statement regarding the issue: "The Atlanta VA Medical Center places the highest priority on delivering quality care while respecting the privacy of Veterans. Our focus has always been to deliver this care in a professional, compassionate and safe environment. When issues occur in our system we conduct reviews to identify, correct and work to prevent additional risk. It would be inappropriate to comment on this case without consent from the Veteran."
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