NEW YORK (AFP) - An American man who underwent a colonoscopy and woke up wearing pink women's underwear is suing for emotional distress, mental anguish and loss of earnings, according to court papers.

The plaintiff, named in local media as 32-year-old Andrew Walls, has demanded a trial by jury in Delaware two years after undergoing the colonoscopy at the Delaware Surgery Centre in Dover.

During the procedure on Oct 12, 2012 he was placed under anesthesia but "awoke to realise that while he was unconscious pink women's underwear had been placed on his body," the suit says.

The filing charges that the clinic's conduct went "beyond all possible bounds of decency" and insists that at no time did the plaintiff voluntarily or intentionally put the pink panties on himself.

"As a result of the defendants' extreme and outrageous conduct, the defendants have intentionally or recklessly caused the plaintiff to experience severe emotional distress," it added.

As a result of this distress the plaintiff lost his job and is suing for extreme distress, embarrassment, humiliation, mental anguish and lost wages and loss of earning capacity.

The suit, written by lawyer Gary Nitsche, was filed last week at the Superior Court of Delaware in New Castle County.

It also names Eden Hill Surgical Group, which has since dissolved.

Neither Nitsche nor the Delaware Surgery Center immediately returned calls for comment.