Trevor Noah Sues Hospital and Surgeon for Medical Malpractice

Trevor Noah will never be the same after he says a hospital and surgeon messed him up for life.

Noah says in the lawsuit ... he went under the knife last year for an undisclosed condition and the defendants -- the Hospital for Special Surgery and Dr. Riley J. Williams -- were "careless in failing to treat and care for [him] in a careful and skillful manner."

Although the lawsuit is unclear, it seems Noah's complaint focuses on both the surgery and aftercare. As for aftercare ... the suit claims the defendants did not "discontinue certain prescription medications" and the medications themselves were improper.

The suit claims, soup to nuts, the surgery was a disaster ... from improper diagnosis, the surgery itself and the aftercare. It goes on to claim had Noah been adequately informed of the "risks, hazards and alternatives," he would have refused treatment altogether.

As a result, the 37-year-old host of "The Daily Show" says he suffered "serious personal injury" -- and the damage he says is "permanent, severe and grievous."

It goes on to use boilerplate language ... alleging his claim of malpractice rendered him "sick, sore, lame and disabled," and he "suffered a loss of enjoyment for life."

Dr. Williams' specialty is knee, shoulder and elbow surgery." Again, the lawsuit doesn't specifically claim the doctor botched the surgery ... rather, the aftercare between August and December 2020 is what's in question.

Noah is suing for unspecified damages.

A rep for the hospital told PEOPLE the suit was meritless.