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Lawyers file medical malpractice lawsuit against hospital over stints

Although medical malpractice lawsuits in Florida and elsewhere are usually based on birth injury or medical mistakes by hospitals or their staff, lawyers in Baltimore, Maryland recently filed a suit based on greed.

Lawyers there filed a class-action lawsuit against St. Joseph Medical Center for unnecessarily performing stint implants on more than 350 patients. The hospital recently informed former patients that they could have received stints even though their arteries weren't clogged enough to require the procedure.

According to the lawsuit, the unnecessary procedures, which cost approximately $10,000, were performed out of greed. The hospital issued a statement refusing to comment, but indicating that the procedures had been performed by one doctor who no longer worked there.

Hospital, doctor and patient settle medical malpractice lawsuit

Lawyers in Florida and elsewhere routinely file lawsuits against hospitals and doctors for medical mistakes or birth injury. A suit brought by a New York woman who became disabled as a result of a surgery was settled this week.

Martha Meyer, from Poughkeepsie, NY filed the suit against Vassar Brothers Medical Center and the estate of her surgeon who has since passed away, Dr. Barry Jordan.

Meyer had surgery with Jordan for a perforated ulcer in September of 2003. Six days after the procedure, she was readmitted to the hospital for internal bleeding. According to the suit, due to her blood loss, she sustained brain damage; the loss of her teeth, a thumb and parts of two fingers and other injuries.

The trial had just begun on January 6. The presiding judge approved a settlement last Wednesday. The parties have agreed to keep the terms confidential.

New Hampshire to join other States in requiring hospitals to report error

Attorneys in Florida and other states file lawsuits daily for birth injury and medical malpractice mistakes committed by hospitals. Now, New Hampshire joins several states in effectuating a new law that requires facilities to make public reports of avoidable medical mistakes to the public, something some say is long overdue.

According to the Institute Of Medicine, medical mistakes in hospitals are a leading cause of death in this country each year. Unfortunately, however, most states have little concrete evidence for things such as mistaken medication or surgical errors. Patients or consumers who want to compare facilities have so far had to rely on internet sites that publish Medicare statistics or information that hospitals volunteer.

"They want this thing moved on, kept in a drawer, don't tell the public," said Rep. Peter Batula, R-Merrimack. "This will bring it out in the open." The state congressman worked through what he described as heavy resistance to pass two bills that would require hospitals to report medical mistakes and hospital-acquired infections.

New Hampshire now joins dozens of other states that already require public hospital reporting.

Trial to begin in Katrina hospital medical malpractice case

Hospitals in Florida and elsewhere are often sued for medical malpractice and birth injury as the result of mistakes made by doctors and staff. However, a recent lawsuit filed by lawyers in New Orleans stemming from a patients death in the wake of hurricane Katrina is raising a new question: is the hospital responsible for the wrongful death of a patient due to the loss of power?

Lawyers have begun selecting a jury and opening remarks are expected today in a case filed against Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital by relatives of Althea LaCoste. This is believed to be the first lawsuit over a hospital patient's death after Katrina.

LaCoste was recovering from pneumonia and on a ventilator when her family took her to the hospital the night before the hurricane came ashore. She passed away when the hospital lost its emergency electrical power and her ventilator failed.

Over 100 people died at hospitals and nursing homes in greater New Orleans after the August 2005 hurricane. Pendleton has yet to reopen since the storm.

Mother of nine files medical malpractice lawsuit over mistaken sterilization

While hospitals in Orlando, Florida are often sued over birth injury or medical mistake, lawyers in Massachusetts recently filed an interesting lawsuit after a mother of nine who asked for birth control following her most recent delivery was sterilized instead without her consent.

35 year old Tessa Savicki filed suit against Baystate Medical Center alleging that the hospital, doctors and nurses originally agreed to implant an IUD but rather sterilized her by performing a tubal ligation.

Savicki's attorney, who is also a licensed OB-GYN, said his client was devastated when she found out about the procedure after giving birth in 2006.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit charges Central Florida hospital with negligence

Lawyers for a Plant City gentleman have filed a medical malpractice suit against Brandon Regional Hospital, alleging negligence and wrongful death from the death of his wife of 39 years. The same hospital has been sued in the past for birth injury.

Intense shoulder and neck pain sent Mabel Mosley to the hospital’s ER last year, where physicians immediately started her on pain medication. Even though these meds relieved her of almost all her pain, however, the suit alleges she was repeatedly given doses of a powerful time release narcotic that literally medicated her to death.

The hospital utilized a computerized "Narcotic Delivery System" that was supposed to prevent such overmedication according to Mr. Mosley’s attorney. He claims they have also failed to release hospital records.

Mosley for now is only suing the hospital pharmacists and the hospital's parent company. By Florida law, the doctor has 90 days to answer questions about the case before he can be sued as well.

Underaged drinker files medical malpractice suit for leg amputations

A western Pennsylvania woman last week filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital which she claims wrongfully amputated her legs after she passed out unconscious. Lawyers in Florida and elsewhere routinely file suits against hospitals for medical errors and birth injury.

Shanna Hiles was partying for her 20th birthday when she drank herself unconscious and passed out with her legs pinned under her for 12 hours. She was taken to Uniontown Hospital, then transferred to a Pittsburgh hospital several hours later where both legs were partially amputated at the knee.

Hiles’ medical malpractice suit against Uniontown and one of its emergency physicians claims they didn’t properly treat her by diagnosing her condition or working to restore circulation to her legs.

A hospital spokeswoman has declined to comment on the suit filed Tuesday.

Embattled doctor settles twelfth medical malpractice suit

With the high volume of patients and procedures in Florida, doctors here often face multiple threats of medical malpractice and birth injury cases during their careers. A former Lancaster, PA orthopedic surgeon, however, has been sued 27 times since 2002 and over a dozen times in recent years.

Lawyers recently settled one of his last remaining cases since closing his practice. Dr. Anthony Mauriello, along with his former clinic and the hospital where he performed surgery have agreed to pay $650,000 to the widow of a 54-year-old man who died a few days following a surgery in 2003.

Lorraine Ruhl filed the suit after the death of her husband, Michael, two days after Mauriello performed surgery on him at Lancaster Regional Medical Center in November 2003 to replace his right hip. Mr. Ruhl died on Nov. 14.

During the procedure, Ruhl, a 54-year-old construction foreman who had elected the surgery, lost more than 4 quarts of blood. The lawsuit claimed this was "an excessive amount of blood for this procedure.” Following surgery, he continued to bleed and subsequently died.

The lawsuit charged that Mauriello "created a situation where Mr. Ruhl lost a tremendous amount of blood and did not properly intervene to resolve the bleeding."

The suit further claimed that neither Mauriello nor other health care providers at the hospital "intervened to identify the cause of the blood loss and correct it until too late."

Woman files medical malpractice lawsuit against hospital after HIV exposure

A New York City woman has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against St. Vincent Hospital after a routine medical procedure exposed her to dirty equipment carrying the HIV virus. Lawyers in Florida routinely file lawsuits for hospital error causing injury to patients or birth injury.

Milvia Lopez underwent an echocardiogram in June of 2007 at St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan. According to her lawsuit, the hospital used an unsterilized scope. Hours after she was discharged, she received an emergency phone call asking her to return. The hospital even sent a limo to pick her up, according to the suit.

Upon returning to the hospital, Lopez was informed that equipment which had not been sterilized had been used in her procedure and that she had been exposed to HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. She was immediately prescribed medicine to treat HIV, along with some antibiotics to fight other bacteria.

The lawsuit claims that the mistake caused Lopez psychological and emotional trauma - she lost her hair during an HIV treatment and her shame kept her confined in her home. It also claims the hospital "engaged in a cover-up which included the withholding of relevant medical records."

New York man suing city after medics throw his ear in trash

Most newsworthy medical lawsuits involve people suing hospitals for birth injury or medical malpractice. Lawyers representing a New York man, however, recently filed suit against a Bronx hospital and the city after his ear was thrown in the garbage.

67 year old Eduardo Garcia had a large part of his upper ear ripped off by a bull terrier belonging to his son on May 10, 2008. Emergency workers transported the salvaged ear on ice in the ambulance, but when they arrived at Montefiore Medical Center, the EMS workers threw the ear in the trash.

The lawsuit alleges the ear was tossed by workers because they feared it was too risky to reattach it. "Now, he's got a deformity," said Garcia's lawyer, Andrew Friedman. "They deprived him of an opportunity to have treatment."

Hospital records show that Garcia’s ear was discarded due to “the potential risk of contamination or infection” if it was reattached. But Friedman said the father should have had the option to rebuild his ear and was left instead with 22 stitches, two staples and no ear lobe.

The city has now filed it own suit against Montefiore, claiming EMS workers were only following hospital orders when they threw the ear in the trash.

Garcia and Montefiore declined comment.

New Jersey Hospital caught in fraud pays $3 million to settle suit

Lawsuits against hospitals typically involve medical malpractice or birth injuries. Lawyers for a former employee whistleblower and the U.S. Department of Justice, however, have been pursuing a case against a New Jersey hospital for years under charges that it violated the False Claims Act by ripping off Medicare.

Trinitas Regional Medical Center has now agreed to pay more than $3 million to settle the suit claiming it defrauded Medicare.

The resolution was announced this week by the U.S. Justice Department, ending a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2005 against Trinitas. The suit alleged the hospital fraudulently inflated charges to Medicare patients to obtain enhanced reimbursement.

Lawyers from the Department said the suit was settled for just over $3 million, plus interest. The agreement calls for the whistleblower litigant, Tony Kite, to receive roughly $679,000 of the total amount.

Study shows Merck cholesterol pill Zetia may be harmful

Lawyers representing patients who took the cholesterol pill Zetia may soon be preparing for medical malpractice or even birth injury cases based on a new study. The results, released this week at and an American Heart Association conference in Orlando, Florida, raised new concerns over the Merck drug and its cousin, Vytorin.

Millions of Americans still take one or both drugs to lower cholesterol, despite concerns raised last year about how well they work. In the recent study, Zetia did nothing to shrink buildups in artery walls, while a rival drug, Niaspan, did so significantly. Researchers were also concerned that Zetia users suffered more heart attacks and other health problems while on the drug, although the frequency of those events were too small to draw firm conclusions.

"This study provides no evidence that would reassure us that this drug is beneficial, and it provides some evidence that it may be harmful," said Yale University cardiologist Dr. Harlan Krumholz, who did not particpate in the study.

The results were being published in the New England Journal of Medicine at the same time they were revealed at the conference. They are likely to cause even less doctors to prescribe Zetia and Vytorin.

Medical malpractice trial over actor’s late brother to begin this week

A wrongful death medical malpractice lawsuit filed by actor James Woods over the death of his brother at a Rhode Island hospital is set to start this week. Lawyers file similar suits in Florida and elsewhere for birth injury and medical mistakes.

Woods is alleging that his younger brother, Michael, received negligent care at Kent Hospital in Rhode Island, where he died in 2006 of what was believed to be a heart attack. He was 49 years old at the time.

The trial is set to begin Monday in Kent County Superior Court. It has not been disclosed how much money or other damages Woods is seeking in the lawsuit.

Lawyers for both sides have declined to comment. Woods told The Associated Press that he was seeking "justice" for his brother but would not discuss the case in detail.

Heart surgeon cleared of negligence in medical malpractice suit

A jury this week found in favor of an Alabama surgeon accused of negligence in a medical malpractice case. Lawyers filed the suit on behalf of the son of a 79 year old woman who passed away following surgery in 2001. Similar cases are filed in Florida for surgical error as well as birth injury.

While undergoing open heart surgery for a blockage in 2001, doctors punctured the superior vena cava of 79 year old Elwanda Franz. Although they located and fixed the laceration during the same surgery, Ms. Franz died 16 months afterward. Her son alleged that the damage her body sustained significantly shortened her life. He also claimed that the doctor was negligent in not repairing the damage quickly enough during the surgery.

Two other physicians named in the suit had reached settlements prior to trial. A suit against the hospital was separated by the judge, meaning that the case against the doctors would have to be proven before the hospital was liable.

The jury deliberated for 45 minutes after a three week trial.

Family settles Birth Injury Malpractice Suit for $77 Million

A New York family and their lawyers settled a medical malpractice case this week brought against the doctors and hospital responsible for their child’s permanent birth injury. Similar cases are often filed by attorneys in Florida.

The case centered around a 3-year old boy who allegedly developed cerebral palsy as a result of unnecessary delays during his birth. The medical malpractice suit that was filed was settled for $77,418,670.

The boy’s mother, Mariana Baizan, charged that the delivery staff at St. John's Riverside Hospital, as well as OBGYN Dr. Shahram Razman, ignored signs that indicated the fetus was suffering oxygen deficiency. Baizan further alleged that instead of performing a Caesarean delivery, her doctor waited nearly an hour before beginning a vaginal delivery.

Parents file medical malpractice suit for football player

The parents of a high school football star who died following massive head injuries during football practice have filed a medical malpractice suit against the hospital that released him. Similar lawsuits for medical mistakes and birth injury are also filed by lawyers in Florida.

17 year old Kyle Wilson suffered a head injury while practicing, was released after being examined at the West Penn Allegheny Health System and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, then died while a spectator at a game on October 23, 2008.

The suit by his parents alleges that doctors at both facilities failed to recognize and treat the Coraopolis youth for severe head injuries despite symptoms including repeated vomiting, numbness, decreased consciousness and nausea.

Officials of Children's Hospital and West Penn have not commented.

Family settles Birth Injury Malpractice Suit for $77 Million

A New York family and their lawyers settled a medical malpractice case this week brought against the doctors and hospital responsible for their child’s permanent birth injury. Similar cases are often filed by attorneys in Florida.

The case centered around a 3-year old boy who allegedly developed cerebral palsy as a result of unnecessary delays during his birth. The medical malpractice suit that was filed was settled for $77,418,670.

The boy’s mother, Mariana Baizan, charged that the delivery staff at St. John's Riverside Hospital, as well as OBGYN Dr. Shahram Razman, ignored signs that indicated the fetus was suffering oxygen deficiency. Baizan further alleged that instead of performing a Caesarean delivery, her doctor waited nearly an hour before beginning a vaginal delivery.

Over 200 people file medical malpractice suit due to radiation exposure

Hospitals in Florida and elsewhere are often sued for medical negligence or birth injuries because of insufficient treatment by staff. Much more seldom are cases filed due to the improper use of equipment. That was the case this week, however, when over 200 patients filed suit against a Los Angeles hospital.

Patients who were exposed to high levels of radiation at Cedars-Sinai Hospital after undergoing routine CT scans filed suit Tuesday, and lawyers believed more patients would come forward as word of the lawsuit spread.

The president of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center commented that he regretted the circumstances that led to the mistake. Patients were exposed to eight times the recommended radiation at the facility in recent months after undergoing brain tests related to a stroke.

"We take very seriously our responsibility for operating medical equipment in the safest possible manner," said Thomas Priselac, CEO of the hospital.

California public health officials are investigating the incident, which exposed patients to high radiation during an 18-month period beginning in February 2008. They are also urging all hospitals to review their standards for operating CT scanners - which emit radiation, but usually in doses that don't put patients at risk.

State’s largest hospital being sued for medical malpractice

Hospitals in Florida and other states are routinely sued for medical malpractice and birth injury mistakes stemming from infection, emergency room or delivery room errors. But the state of Vermont has somehow had fewer cases filed than any other. According to lawyers, the odds have been stacked against the injured party in the past.

That may change with the recent start of a lawsuit against the state’s largest hospital, who is being accused of negligence that permanently crippled a patient.

73-year-old Robert Erlandson was left crippled after a team of well regarded surgeons replaced both of his knees at Fletcher-Allen Heath Care. Ironically, Erlandson, a cancer researcher for 38 years, is a doctor himself. According to his lawyer, he suffered serious nerve damage in the surgery that took place 5 1/2 years ago at the facility.

Erlandson is suing Fletcher-Allen for medical malpractice. He claims the surgical team negligently misapplied a tourniquet, damaged the nerves to his lower left leg and changed his life forever. The hospital denies any negligence.

According to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Justice, the national odds of an injured patient prevailing in a medical malpractice lawsuit are approximately 1 in 7. In Vermont, however, the odds are far less. "If the case goes to trial here in Vermont probably 95% are won by the health care company or the physician," said trial lawyer Jerry O'Neil.

Florida Medical Negligence lawsuit charges hospital error in man's death

Florida lawyers are often approached by clients who believe their injuries or birth injury is the result of the medical malpractice of a hospital or its staff. In some tragic instances, however, they can only help the family of a loved one who has already passed away from medical mistake.

In a recent South Florida case, the estate of an elderly man is alleging that the staff at Indian River Medical Center emergency room made mistakes that led to his death two months after his discharge in 2008.

Thomas Browne was 76 when he passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage. The lawsuit from his estate is alleging the condition was caused by internal brain bleeding from falling from an emergency room bed without side rails.

The mistake, as well as a broken leg that resulted from the fall, was missed for hours after his admission for observation on Jan. 20, 2008, according to his attorney. Representatives from the hospital have declined comment.

Browne’s estate is suing for an unspecified amount of financial damages on behalf of his six children, according to the pleadings.

Lawyers secure $5.75 million award in birth injury medical malpractice case

Lawyers for a 4-year-old boy obtained a large settlement from the University of California hospital system recently for the boy’s cerebral palsy birth injury. Lawyers in Florida have settled similar cases for families in birth injury and other medical malpractice cases.

According to court filings, the Davis Medical Center agreed to pay $5.75 million to settle a lawsuit filed for the child’s brain injuries during his birth at the hospital. A Sacramento judge approved the deal last week for the birth of Cannon Hoops on Dec. 1, 2004.

The lawyer for the boy’s parents filed a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging that the staff at Davis were negligent in causing the boy's cerebral palsy. Counsel for the University of California Board of Regents stated that the settlement is the largest the university system has paid to settle a medical malpractice claim.

Medical Malpractice Trial underway in student’s death

A Pennsylvania facility is being sued for medical malpractice stemming from the death of a college student. According to lawyers, lawsuits against hospitals are usually due to medical mistakes or birth injury.

The medical malpractice case will go before the court this week stemming from the death of a University of Pennsylvania sophomore two years ago.

19 year old Anne Ryan passed away in September of 2007.

Her family charges that the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania was negligent in performing a lumbar puncture on a patient suffering from brain swelling, causing a herniation of her brain and killing her.

The hospital responds that Ryan received outstanding medical care and that the lumbar puncture - usually known as a spinal tap - is the standard test for meningitis.

Florida Dept. of Health clears doctors in Medical Malpractice case

The Florida Department of Health Board of Medicine, responsible for regulating doctors involving medical malpractice and birth injury matters, has cleared two doctors who have been sued for the much-publicized death of Boca Raton teenager Stephanie Kuleba.

The then-18 year old Boca Raton cheerleader died in March 2008 from an acute reaction to anesthesia given during routine surgery. According to a lawsuit filed by her parents, while undergoing breast implant surgery, she became gravely ill; her heart rate increased, her muscles stiffened and her body temperature spiked, eventually causing organ failure. She went into cardiac arrest on her way to the hospital and had to be resuscitated, but died within 24 hours.

An autopsy by the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office found that she had a rare condition called malignant hyperthermia and her death was ruled an accident. This was a shock especially since she had always been healthy and active.

In a response from the Department of Health dated April 29, they indicate that complaints against the surgeon and anesthesiologist were dismissed due to "insufficient evidence" that the physicians violated standards of medical practice.

The girls parents, Joanne and Tom Kuleba, are frustrated with the decision because they say they knew nothing about a state inquiry being started, let alone concluded. Because of the secrecy they suspect that the medical establishment is just protecting its own. For some reason, the letters were addressed to Stephanie Kuleba, even though by then she had been dead for more than a year.

The DOH official who sent the letters, Assistant General Counsel Juanita Powell-Williams, wrote she was advising Stephanie of the dismissals as the filer of the complaint.

"You fall behind this black wall of secrecy," Tom Kuleba says. "They literally will tell you nothing."

Florida judge set to hear arguments on denture cream cases

In a case with possible medical malpractice implications, a Federal Judge in Miami is set to hear arguments from lawyers this month on whether trials should proceed against denture cream companies for injuries allegedly caused by the zinc in their products. Parents are awaiting further testing to determine if the chemical may cause birth injury as well.

At least 25 lawsuits from 11 different states have been filed by people against consumer product giants Procter & Gamble Co., maker of Fixodent, and GlaxoSmithKline, who produces PoliGrip. Users have alleged various nerve-related disorders as a result of using the products, which they claim contains unhealthy amounts of zinc.

The cases follow the release of a 2008 report in the medical journal Neurology about a possible link between denture cream zinc and nerve damage. Physicians at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas studied 4 patients who all used excessive amounts of denture cream and had various nerve-related disorders.

While the researchers did not say that their findings proved denture cream caused the problems, they believed the issue warranted further study. The human body needs both zinc and copper in the proper amounts. Zinc is commonly found in a multitude of foods, vitamin supplements and even cold lozenges. Too much zinc, however, may purge the body of copper.

A deficiency of copper in the body can cause nerve damage, resulting in symptoms such as weakness and numbness in arms and legs; difficulty walking and loss of balance; and even cognitive or memory impairment, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The companies that produce denture cream claim it is safe when used as directed. It is added to the product to help with the adhesive strength. The FDA, who is responsible for regulating denture adhesives, has not issued any warnings about the products. In actuality, the amount of zinc found in the recommended use amount of denture cream is almost the same as the amount found in a 6-ounce hamburger, and the majority of users experience no problems.

The lawsuits claim the products are defective, that the companies failed to adequately warn people about the potential dangers and that no corrective steps were taken. The product liability lawsuits are seeking medical expenses and unspecified damages.

Trial starts this week for Paxil birth injury lawsuit

A Philadelphia woman is suing GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. in a medical malpractice case on behalf of her now 4 year-old son, alleging that its superdrug Paxil caused his birth injuries and heart problems. The suit also alleges that the company ignored evidence that its antidepressant Paxil may have caused birth defects for years.

Lawyer Sean Tracey told the court that Pennsylvania resident Michelle David, a former dancer for the 76ers, took the drug during her pregnancy. Glaxo is headquartered in London, but employs several thousand people in the Philadelphia region. Tracey also alleged that the company told its scientists to avoid disclosing possible risks associated with the drug's use by pregnant women.

"GSK said if there is any doubt, take it out," Tracey said, quoting from the company's core safety philosophy. "That's the exact opposite of what the regulations say, which is that if there is any evidence of association, you need to put it in."

GlaxoSmithKline's lawyer Chilton Varner said there is no evidence that Paxil caused Kilker's heart problems.

The trial is the first of over 600 cases charging that Glaxo knew Paxil caused birth injury and hid those risks to increase profits. Approved for U.S. use in 1992, the drug generated about $942 million in sales last year, 2.1 percent of Glaxo's total sales.

Despite pressure, Oklahoma mother opts for traditional birth after C-sections

Traditional births are usually strongly cautioned against or even prohibited by doctors after a mother has already undergone a C-section birth. The real reason for this, it turns out, are restrictions in coverage from insurance companies who want to guard against Medical Malpractice or birth injury lawsuits from lawyers. An Oklahoma mother, however, recently bucked the trend and is happy with her decision.

After Michelle English became pregnant with her last child, she had to find a new obstetrician. Her prior physician refused to allow her to try a vaginal delivery because she’d already undergone two cesarean sections.

English felt that her previous two C-sections had been unnecessary because her babies weren’t as large as predicted, and the longer recovery time made it harder to bond with the babies and care for her family.

"I had this profound sadness that I could be the mother of three children and never have had a contraction,” she said.

Many doctors don’t allow vaginal birth after cesarean, or VBAC, or can’t allow it because of malpractice insurance rules. But English found a physician that would talk to her about the risks. Her third son, Hudson, was born vaginally and without complications April 7.

"I felt totally and completely empowered like I could do anything in the world,” English said.

English’s new obstetrician, Dr. Robert Ryan, said he changed liability insurance providers when the state’s largest insurer, PLICO, announced several years ago that it would not provide malpractice insurance for VBAC. The procedure is allowed by his current insurer.

Some doctors fear that the cesarean scar may rupture from contractions during a vaginal delivery or that the uterus may rupture, but that’s rare, Ryan said.

"VBAC is not for everybody, but the success rates are reasonable and the risks are fairly low,” he said.

Dr. Eric Knudtson, a maternal fetal specialist at OU Medical Center, said C-sections also pose significant risks such as infection and blood loss.

"Most women want the experience of vaginal delivery,” he said. "But there’s less access and less willingness on the part of the physicians.”

Of women who try VBAC, 60 to 80 percent succeed and are able to give birth vaginally, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

English said women need to be educated about their options and question policies they believe are unfair.

"A woman has a right to bear her children in the way she deems fit,” she said.

New Jersey leads charge on fighting hospital error - will Florida follow?

New Jersey governor Jon S. Corzine this week signed a law into measure that will require hospitals to report on their mistakes and performance in patient-safety areas. The law will affect how medical malpractice, birth injuries and serious medical errors are handled. Lawyers and consumer advocates are calling for Florida to pass similar legislation, in a state that has long shielded institutions and their insurers.

The New Jersey law will also prevent hospitals from making patients pay for treatment resulting from serious medical errors.

"This is a major victory for consumer protection in New Jersey," said Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney, D-GloucEster, who was among the legislation's sponsors. "Hospital-specific reporting will improve patient safety," added another sponsor, Assemblyman Herb Conaway, D-Burlington.

Patient-safety statistics now must be disclosed in an annual report on hospitals prepared by th estate Department of Health and Senior Services. Records will be kept on surgery on the wrong body part, objects left inside patients, and injuries from post-surgery falls. Sweeney noted patient-safety indicators "already are collected by the industry and the state. It's time that we share this information with the public, to let them make the best decisions possible and control their own medical destiny."

Nationwide, excess charges due to preventable medical errors exceed $9 billion a year, observed Sy Larson, president of AARP New Jersey, which supports the new law.

Hospitals trying new approach to medical malpractice: Honesty

6-year-old Kaelyn Sosa was permanently disabled with a brain injury when she was only a toddler after a Miami, Florida hospital committed medical error. A breathing tube was dislodged cutting off her oxygen under sedation causing the brain injury. Although Baptist Children’s Hospital responded as they often do in birth injury and medical malpractice cases, they also went a step beyond.

In addition to settling with the family for an undisclosed sum, the hospital administrators studied the events that led to the accident in order to put new standards in place to prevent similar mistakes and respond quicker when they do occur. They also asked the parents to participate in educating the staff about the critical importance of proper medical care.

Kaelyn’s mother, Sandy, now helps the hospital protect other patients from such accidents. She serves as a community liaison on the hospital's quality-and-patient-safety committee. "We wanted something good to come out of what happened to our daughter," she says.

Up to 98,000 Americans die every year from medical errors, according to the Institute of Medicine, a government advisory group. In trying to reduce this number rather than just pay for the mistakes, some hospitals like Baptist Children's are beginning to admit grievous mistakes and learn from them in order to correct flawed procedures. That represents a sharp departure from hospitals' traditional response when something goes terribly wrong—retreating behind a wall of silence to guard against potential lawsuits.

Hospitals hope that by being more open with injured patients and their families, they may slow the tide of lawsuits. While some legal experts warn that such admissions could lead to an increase in litigation and costs, there is an indication that patients are less likely to sue if they receive full disclosure and an apology, along with an offer of compensation. The new approach can also work towards the long term goal of improving hospital safety records.

"Sorry alone doesn't work unless we learn from our mistakes," says Timothy McDonald, a pediatric anesthesiologist and chief safety officer at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. "We have to also make promises that this won't happen again and get patients and families engaged in the effort to improve our performance."

Dr. McDonald says that over the past four years, the number of lawsuits against the center is down 40% compared to the period between 1999 and 2004, even though the number of procedures increased 23%. While it can't say for certain that the disclosure program was responsible for the decreases, "we can certainly say that it has not caused an increase in lawsuits or payouts," he says.

Paralyzed Florida woman will testify today in her own medical malpractice lawsuit

A Florida woman will testify in her own medical malpractice case today in Naples from a gurney chair. She has been a paraplegic since 2005 when she suffered an epidural abscess. Her suit alleges three doctors are guilty of medical malpractice which contributed to her condition. She settled the portion of her case against the hospital for a confidential amount just before the trial. Similar lawsuits are filed against Florida hospitals for birth injuries.

Sheila Matthews is a 55-year-old mother of three. She walked into the emergency room of NCH North Naples Hospital in March of 2005 in extreme pain. She had suffered from diabetes, peripheral neuropathy and bipolar disorder in the past, but the former nurse knew something was different on that day.

On Monday, a nurse’s aide will roll Matthews’ gurney chair into Judge Cynthia Pivacek’s courtroom, where Matthews will tell the seven-man, one-woman jury, including two alternates, what happened. Matthews, whose diagnosis is permanent, irreversible paraplegia and quadriparesis, hasn’t been in the courtroom since opening statements.

Matthews’ 2007 medical malpractice lawsuit alleges she suffered from progressive neurological deterioration after she was admitted March 29, 2005. Six days later, she was transported to NCH Downtown Naples Hospital for a lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Two days later, another MRI found a large epidural abscess on her spine.

A neurological consult was immediately requested and decompressive surgery was performed to remove it. But it was too late: Matthews had suffered severe, permanent neurological dysfunction.

Among the lawsuit’s allegations are that the defendants were negligent for failing to perform proper nursing assessments; not notifying doctors of significant changes in her condition; failing to perform timely MRIs; not documenting nursing assessments; not admitting her into the intensive care unit for close monitoring; and failing to identify and recognize Matthews’ progressive neurological condition.

She told jurors the estimate for her care for the rest of her life is $4.7 million.

University spends $1.2 million on Medical Malpractice settlements in six months

Records released Tuesday by The University of Iowa show that the school has paid over $1.2 million to settle medical malpractice lawsuits this year. It was not clear whether any of the settlements were for birth injury cases. Florida universities face similar lawsuits for malpractice claims in their hospitals.

The amount covered settlements for six medical malpractice lawsuits and $392,581 in attorney fees. Insurance covered $659,818 of the total, including $425,000 toward settlement of one medical malpractice lawsuit and all attorney fees reported by the U of I for medical malpractice cases.

The university did not admit liability in any of the settlements.

Woman’s family awarded $1 million in medical malpractice suit

A family who filed a medical malpractice suit against the two doctors responsible for the care of a Connecticut woman who died five days after ovarian surgery received $1 million for her wrongful death. Such cases may also be filed against doctors responsible for birth injuries.

A lawyer for the woman’s estate confirmed the award last week.

The money is from a settlement of her relatives' lawsuit against doctors Margarita Olivares and Harold Bodin, both affiliated with the Norwich OB-GYN Group.

Beaudoin died in July 2006 at the William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. She was 60. Court documents say Olivares tore Beaudoin's colon during the surgery.

Bodin and his lawyer, who also represents Olivares, did not immediately return phone messages Friday. Olivares, who now practices in New York City, was not at her office Friday and her home number could not be found.

Woman’s family awarded $1 million in medical malpractice suit

A family who filed a medical malpractice suit against the two doctors responsible for the care of a Connecticut woman who died five days after ovarian surgery received $1 million for her wrongful death. Such cases may also be filed against doctors responsible for birth injuries.

A lawyer for the woman’s estate confirmed the award last week.

The money is from a settlement of her relatives' lawsuit against doctors Margarita Olivares and Harold Bodin, both affiliated with the Norwich OB-GYN Group.

Beaudoin died in July 2006 at the William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. She was 60. Court documents say Olivares tore Beaudoin's colon during the surgery.

Bodin and his lawyer, who also represents Olivares, did not immediately return phone messages Friday. Olivares, who now practices in New York City, was not at her office Friday and her home number could not be found.

Jury awards $1.8 million paid in heart condition medical malpractice case

A New Jersey woman originally awarded $4 million in a medical malpractice case was paid $1.8 last week after a jury found in her favor in June. She had filed a lawsuit claiming that a physician misdiagnosed her heart condition which caused her to need a transplant. Similar failure to diagnose cases, as well as birth injury cases, are common in Florida.

24 year old Leslie Thorne originally filed the claim against three ER doctors who provided treatment at Mary Immaculate Hospital, Dr. David Glick, William Hunter and Andrew B. Cole. Although she was awarded $4 million by the jury, the judgment was later reduced to $1.8 million because of caps on medical damages in Virginia.

Thorne had visited the ER at Sentara Port Warwick in June of 2005 with complaints of shortness of breath, coughing and chest pain. Although X-rays showed an enlarged heart, Dr. Cole, an attending physician at the time, diagnoses bronchitis and gave her an antibiotic.

A few weeks later at the same facility, Dr. Hunter diagnosed her with a virus and gave her an anti-nausea prescription.

When her problems worsened, Thorne went to the emergency room at Mary Immaculate Hospital. She complained again of chest pain and shortness of breath, but also had swelling in her legs, an enlarged heart and an abnormal electrocardiogram, records showed.

On that visit, Dr. Glick diagnosed her with hepatitis and told her to follow up with her primary care physician.

Five weeks after her first complaints, doctors at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore finally diagnosed Thorne with a rare heart condition caused by childbirth. She later received a heart transplant. Her attorney argued that if she had been properly diagnosed earlier, she could have been treated with medicine and wouldn't have needed a transplant. She now may need another transplant and will have to take medicine for the rest of her life.

Medical Malpractice insurer bought for $45.6 million in cash deal

A Florida company has made a deal to purchase Advocate, MD Financial Group Inc., a Texas-based company that furnishes medical malpractice insurance for medical and birth injuries.

FPIC Insurance Group, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, will initially spend $33.6 million in cash to purchase Advocate, MD, with an agreement to pay up to $12 million more over the next two years depending on the firm’s performance.

Advocate’s CEO Mark Adams, who founded the company and still owns approximately 20 percent, will also get up to $2 million to execute a noncompete agreement, though he will remain on as chief executive.

Advocate is the 4th largest provider of medical malpractice insurance in Texas and also provides coverage in Mississippi.

Man brings medical malpractice suit for surgery on wrong knee

A man has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit asking for over $50,000 in damages, claiming that doctors "surgically invaded' the wrong knee during a knee replacement surgery at a west suburban hospital. Similar cases have been filed in Florida for wrongful amputations and birth injuries.

The patient, Krzysztof Kordes filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Chicago against his surgeon Dr. Scott A. Seymore, his surgical assistant and their practice, for a surgery that occurred on May 6, 2008. He was supposed to undergo a right knee arthroscopy, partial lateral meniscectomy and ACL reconstruction. The operation, however, left him with cartilage damage to his left knee.

The surgeon and assistant allegedly prepped Kordes’ left knee then began performing replacement surgery on that knee. At some point, however, they both realized they were operating on the wrong knee and began removing the surgical instruments and sutured the incisions. The doctors then continued to operate on his right knee, as planned.

Kordes was later diagnosed with chondromalaci patealla to his left knee — a general term indicating damage to the cartilage under the kneecap. The five-count medical negligence suit seeks more than $50,000 on each count, plus the costs of the suit.

Man brings medical malpractice suit for surgery on wrong knee

A man has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit asking for over $50,000 in damages, claiming that doctors "surgically invaded' the wrong knee during a knee replacement surgery at a west suburban hospital. Similar cases have been filed in Florida for wrongful amputations and birth injuries.

The patient, Krzysztof Kordes filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Chicago against his surgeon Dr. Scott A. Seymore, his surgical assistant and their practice, for a surgery that occurred on May 6, 2008. He was supposed to undergo a right knee arthroscopy, partial lateral meniscectomy and ACL reconstruction. The operation, however, left him with cartilage damage to his left knee.

The surgeon and assistant allegedly prepped Kordes’ left knee then began performing replacement surgery on that knee. At some point, however, they both realized they were operating on the wrong knee and began removing the surgical instruments and sutured the incisions. The doctors then continued to operate on his right knee, as planned.

Kordes was later diagnosed with chondromalaci patealla to his left knee — a general term indicating damage to the cartilage under the kneecap. The five-count medical negligence suit seeks more than $50,000 on each count, plus the costs of the suit.

Hospital in Florida cleared of medical malpractice over deportation

A jury decided Monday that a Stuart, Florida hospital which moved a brain damaged illegal immigrant in its care back to Central America despite protest from his legal guardian did not commit medical malpractice. The suit is one of thousands of medical malpractice and birth injury cases filed against Florida hospitals this year.

The clerk of the Court reported that the 6-person jury ruled unanimously in favor of the hospital.

The case centered around 37-year-old Luis Jimenez, a Mayan Indian from Guatemala. The hospital had cared for the uninsured illegal immigrant for three years, however, it was not able to find a nursing home or health care facility to take him permanently because his immigration status meant the government would not reimburse his care.

"Hospitals are not intended to become long-term housing," said Linda Quick, president of the South Florida Hospital & Healthcare Association. "The issue is that there are no long-term providers required to take people for whom they know they are not going to be paid."

The case, filed by Jimenez's cousin, Montejo Gaspar, who became his legal guardian after a brain injury, sought nearly $1 million to cover the estimated lifetime costs of Jimenez's care in Guatemala, as well as damages.

The hospital said it was merely following a court order - which was being appealed at the time - and that Jimenez wanted to go home. Gaspar's attorney Bill King said he was extremely disappointed with the ruling and was reviewing all options including whether to appeal.

State Supreme Court overturns $75 million medical malpractice verdict

A lawsuit which awarded $75 million to the parents of a child who suffered a birth injury due to medical malpractice was overturned last week by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Damages have been awarded for similar cases in Florida. Lawyers for the family did not comment.

The Court cited numerous trial errors as well as other problems in reversing the substantial award. In their decision, they stated the jury was improperly exposed to bias against medical professionals and Saint Barnabas Medical Center during the jury selection process.

The award had been given to the parents of a boy who suffered brain damage as an infant when he was deprived of oxygen during surgery in 1998. According to court documents, the child now suffers from significant intellectual, verbal and neuron motor deficiencies and requires constant care.

The case was remanded for another trial.

Saint Barnabas Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, is a 597-bed non-profit major teaching hospital located in Livingston, New Jersey. It is the oldest and largest nonprofit, nonsectarian hospital in New Jersey.

Navy settles birth injury suit with North Florida family

Nearly 11 months after their son died at Jacksonville Naval Hospital, the parents who brought a medical malpractice claim against the hospital have settled their suit. Almost a year after their son died, the parents of a boy born at Jacksonville Naval Hospital have settled a medical malpractice lawsuit with the hospital for $500,000.

Joseph and Kendra Alcorn, who previously lived in Orange Park, Florida, came to an agreement last week with the U.S. Attorney's Office, who represents the hospital, to resolve the lawsuit for $500,000.

Following a high-danger pregnancy, Kendra Alcorn gave birth to twins in 2005. The first infant was born healthy, but the youngest child suffered from lack of oxygen.

Sean Cronin, the lawyer representing the Alcorn’s, argued that the hospital staff was negligent by not preventing the oxygen deficiency, which caused the boy to develop blindness and cerebral palsy. He died on Sept. 27, 2008, at just over three years old.

New bill becomes law, will limit medical malpractice suits in AZ

Arizona has now passed a law with similar intentions to the 2003 Florida Medical Malpractice changes, aimed at reducing claims. The bill will make it more difficult to recover damages from emergency medical providers alleged of medical malpractice. The law may also affect birth injuries in emergency situations.

The bill, approved by the state legislature and signed by governor Jan Brewer last week, will raise the burden on the victim or their family to prove that care was negligent. Senator Carolyn Allen of Scottsdale (R), justified her legislation as something that would help draw more emergency room physicians to practice in Arizona.

Attorneys who represent victims of medical injuries or death, however, worry that the changes will deprive Arizonans of their opportunity to recover damages.

The state passed similar legislation in 2006, however it was vetoed by then governor Janet Napolitano. In 2007 it was narrowly voted down in the House. The new law takes effect on Sept. 30.

What is causing the increase in C-Section deliveries?

About ten years ago 20% of women having a baby underwent a C-section. Now, the number is getting closer to 50%. Experts believe the trend increase is due to more high-risk pregnancies, fear of medical malpractice and birth injury lawsuits and the habit of patients wanting a scheduled delivery.

All of this has led to an increase in health care costs with extended hospital stays, more pain in recovery, as well as the overall risks associated with any surgery. C-sections are now the second-most popular surgical procedure for women according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Ten years ago, it was third.

A major reason for the jump is the fear of a birth injury lawsuit. While every doctor has the threat of being sued for malpractice, OB-GYNs are among those most commonly sued. C-sections may limit those fears since it is performed in a controlled environment.

“Rather than incur the risk, increasing numbers of obstetricians are bypassing natural childbirth in favor of C-sections,” explains Mike Matray, editor of The Medical Liability Monitor, a publication on malpractice issues.

But C-sections also have their own risks, from infection to blood clots and even death from complications of the surgery or anesthesia, according to a 2006 study by the Childbirth Connection. Obstetric and gynecologic surgery had the most malpractice claims of the 28 medical specialties studied from 1985 to 2007 by the Data Sharing Project of the Physician Insurers Association of America.

“It doesn’t take an economist to see that high (medical-malpractice) premiums have an effect on the high price of health care,” he said.

Hospital Medical Malpractice by technician leads to hepatitis scare in Denver

Denver residents are in shock at learning that a drug-addicted scrub technician at a local hospital may have exposed about 6,000 patients to hepatitis C when she allegedly passed on dirty syringes that she had used to patients. Experts are calling it one of the worst medical malpractice cases ever in the area. Mistakes by drug-addicted staff have also led to birth injuries in some cases.

The technician, 26 year-old Kristen Diane Parker, has been incarcerated. Parker told police that she kept dirty saline-filled syringes in her pocket and watched for opportunities when doctors and nurses left the room. She then allegedly stole syringes filled with Fentanyl from operating carts and replaced them with the used syringes.

Several thousand worried patients have been tested for hepatitis and are questioning two area hospitals about how this could have happened. At least ten cases have been linked to Rose Medical Center, where Parker worked until April. State health experts are trying to determine if the ten hepatitis C cases are actually linked to Parker. One problem is that many people with hepatitis C don’t know they are infected at first since they don’t develop symptoms for years.

"I didn’t want to make it obvious to everyone that I was using," Parker told police in an interview, saying she stole between 15 and 20 syringes of Fentanyl. "I knew my limit."

Hepatitis C is a treatable but incurable blood-borne disease that can cause serious liver problems. Parker’s case may end up being the only one so far in Colorado where a patient got infected from a health care worker who was tampering with drugs, said Dr. Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for the state health department.

A factor that could lead to more serious charges is whether Parker knew she was infected with hepatitis C. She did test positive for the disease prior to starting her job in October, but didn’t follow up with treatment since she didn’t have health insurance or money for a doctor. She also claimed hospital officials didn’t make it clear she tested positive.

A federal magistrate judge disagreed and declared her a danger to the community and ordered her held without bond, saying her actions showed significant disregard for the safety of others. Her next hearing is Oct. 6. Those infected with hepatitis C are not barred from working in health services, so long as standard precautions are taken, according to the CDC.

Doctor to testify against his own clinic for hepatitis Medical Malpractice

A doctor from the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada has agreed to testify against his colleagues to The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners regarding the medical malpractice that led to last year’s hepatitis C outbreak. The Board disciplines doctors in the state whose practices lead to medical or birth injury. Florida has a similar board.

The board will punish Dr. Eladio Carrera with only a light fine of $15,000 for three counts of bringing the medical profession into disrepute in exchange for his testimony against Dr. Desai, majority owner of the clinic, and Dr. Clifford Carrol, who is accused of causing the outbreak through his negligent treatment of a patient with hepatitis C.

“Our investigation shows he has a substantially different responsibility for the infections than the other two physicians involved,” said Louis Ling, executive director of the medical board. “He is willing to testify truthfully against the other two doctors and give us a context for the case that nobody else can give us.”

It is estimated that approximately 100 people were infected with hepatitis C when nurses treating an infected patient of Carrol’s reused syringes and single-use medicine vials. As a result, an anesthetic that was given to other patients was contaminated. In February 2008, approximately 50,000 people who had been treated at the clinic had to be told to get tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.

Doctor reporting encouraging results from Stem Cell treatment of Cerebral Palsy

A California doctor performing transplants of bone marrow containing stem cells believes he has found a key to helping victims of Cerebral Palsy. The birth injury affects thousands every year and is often caused by a mistake or medical malpractice of the delivery physician.

Dr. David Steenblock of Mission Viejo, California, an early leader in using clinical applications of stem cells, is reporting the results of a procedure on a 16 year-old girl who was suffering with cerebral palsy. The patient experienced right side paralysis and spasticity ever since birth. The procedure Dr. Steenblock performed consisted of removing 300 milliliters of bone marrow from her hip, then injecting it in her through an IV.

Five hours following the raw bone marrow injection, the patient began moving her right toe for the first time ever. By that night, she was walking using her right foot. The day following the procedure, she was able to straighten out and use her right arm and wrist for the first time. Within three weeks, she was also able to move her fingers on her right hand and hold a cup for the first time.

"This has been the easiest and most successful treatment she has ever received!" The patient’s mother exclaimed.

The dramatic success of this procedure will lead to further testing and open other options for treatment of cerebral palsy. The key is the patient’s own bone marrow, which contains stem cells. When reintroduced back to the same patient intravenously, these cells reportedly migrate to injured areas and repair tissue(s) that are damaged, even if the damage occurred decades ago.

Pennsylvania woman’s death caused by Motorcycle Accident

A Pennsylvania woman was killed last week in an accident when she was tossed as a passenger from a motorcycle. It was unclear if any cars were involved in the accident and personal injury lawyers were looking into whether it was a wrongful death.

46 year old Martha Nye died at the scene of the accident in Darlington, according to state police. The driver of the motorcycle, Troy Gower, lost control and ran off the road, then they were both thrown from it.

Nye was not wearing a helmet and died as a result of a blow to the head. Gower was flown to a nearby hospital and was expected to survive.

New Surgery may help children with birth injuries regain control

A doctor in China has developed a new surgery that may help children who suffered a spinal cord birth injury or spina bifida regain control of their bladder and bowel function. The condition can occur in around 2 of every 1,000 births when an infant’s spinal cord is damaged while pushing through an opening that is too small. This can sometimes occur when a doctor commits medical malpractice by failing to perform a c-section.

Many kids affected by spina bifida or spinal birth injuries develop bladder and bowel problems and there are few treatment options. A new experimental surgery, however, called the Xiao procedure, may help. Named after Chuan-Guo Xiao, a urologist in China, the surgery involves rewiring nerves in the spinal cord.

"There has been very little progress over the past several decades in the treatment of bladder dysfunction," Gerald Tuite, M.D., a pediatric neurosurgeon at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., said. "The use of catheters was a huge breakthrough many years ago, but since then there have been medicines and other experimental things tried, but nothing has given people control of their bladder."

"We take a small portion of the nerve that usually controls motor function or movement in the leg and we cut it and splice it to a nerve that usually controls bowel and bladder function," Dr. Tuite explained.

If it works for patients with spinal cord injuries, they will be able to activate their bladder and bowels by vigorously scratching a spot on his or her thigh.

"Patients who have spina bifida, professor Xiao has told us that it's not necessary for them to scratch in a certain distribution; that they will just regain control of their bowel and bladder spontaneously," Dr. Tuite said.

An early study of the surgery showed that patients who are able to walk risk developing leg weakness from the procedure.

"Dr. Xiao has told us while initially they have weakness, over time the nervous system is able to compensate for that and usually … their foot function returns to where it was; but we as part of this study want to be absolutely sure we know what the risks are," Dr. Tuite said.

The safety and effectiveness of the procedure is currently being tested at All Children's Hospital in Tampa, Fla.

Medical Malpractice costs healthcare system $151 billion per year

Talks about the nationalization of healthcare have recently brought a number of new issues to the table, with medical malpractice being the most talked about.

While the AMA (American Medical Association) and some physicians contend that medical malpractice contributes to increased costs in healthcare, others say that is a falsehood.

"Oftentimes, patients don't realize that just because the results aren't perfect, it's not malpractice," said Victor Ching, president of the medical staff at San Antonio Community Hospital. "You can't guarantee a perfect result, and so it's not necessarily negligence. Sometimes it just happens."

According to the AMA, liability issues from med mal increase health system costs by as much as $151 billion per year.

Florida spine surgeon sued again for medical malpractice, drawing concern

A Florida surgeon who performs back surgeries on patients from around the world, despite questionable qualifications and having been sued numerous times, has been named in another medical malpractice lawsuit. Florida is home to numerous malpractice and birth injury claims. In the suit, Michigan woman claims Dr. Alfred Bonati performed 13 surgeries on her over a period of 7 months, and tried to hide her in a private condominium for 6 weeks following a botched operation.

Stacy Mahan, a 41-year-old RN, came to Dr. Bonati after finding him on the Internet. The suit names the doctor, several of his staff, as well as Maxim Healthcare Services and its home health care division. The doctors’ Bonati Institute, holds itself out as a practice that specializes in minimally invasive back surgery, using patented tools and techniques for outpatient operations.

Lawyers for the plaintiff recalled accounts from patients of the doctor, who described their initial encounters as "a seduction." "They have gone through more conventional treatments and still have pain. They're told, 'Dr. Bonati is God, and he will fix you.' If you're the person who's been through hell, this is exactly what you want to hear."

Bonati's lawyer said last week that she had not seen a copy of the complaint and could not comment on it. Maxim Health Resources did not return calls for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Mahan first visited the doctor for moderate lower spinal and back, hip, and left leg pain. After diagnostic testing, she underwent a series of surgeries, some of which "caused or produced" an injury to the covering of Mahan's spine, which resulted in leaking spinal fluid.

"The number of operations carried out on Mahan is in keeping with a pattern of practice including multiple operations on virtually each patient seen and treated at the Bonati Institute and Gulf Coast Orthopedic Center over many years," the lawsuit said.

"Regardless of whether or not such practice is or is not appropriate conduct and practice for a spine surgeon (even a 'minimally invasive one')," the lawsuit states, "none of the operations done after 2/20/07 by Bonati could have been reasonably expected to address the problems both created by and identified by previous operations carried out by Bonati on Mahan."

The lawsuit also claims Mahan was housed in a private condo, where she received care from nurses employed by Maxim Health Services.

"Her severity of illness was far beyond the ability to care for her medically and/or surgically in a hotel/motel/condominium location," the lawsuit said. The complaint accused Bonati, who does not have hospital admitting privileges, of "trying to hide his mistakes" by putting Mahan in the "off-site private, unsanitary condominium."

The lawsuit also raises some shocking claims about the doctor’s past in addition to the malpractice charge, for example:

• That he fraudulently entered the United States from Chile, failed the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery exam twice, then created his own board and certified himself;
• That to be accepted in Cook County Hospital's training program, he falsely represented in writing that he attended Catholic University in Rome, later admitting that the university was bogus; and that he later claimed to have attended the University of Naples in Italy, which in litigation he admitted was bogus and that he doesn't even know if it exists;
• That he falsified recommendation letters to get into medical school at Wake Forest University. The lawsuit says two doctors whom Bonati claimed to have drafted and signed the letters denied doing so in court depositions.
• That he was placed on academic probation at Wake Forest, and while there submitted false information to obtain medical licenses in North Carolina and Florida, which "he still holds by renewal."

High Court Throws out Malpractice Ruling that favored Orthopedic

A New Jersey appellate court last week through out a 2007 medical malpractice ruling that exonerated a Vineland orthopedic surgeon from liability, saying that the jury had been given improper instructions. Such decisions are common in medical malpractice and birth injury cases.

In their ruling, the three member appellate panel of judges found that the lower Court Judge erred in instructing the jury on how they should decide whether Dr. Seth Silver, of the South Jersey Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, caused Anthony Gonzalez Jr. to suffer a permanent injury to his elbow.

The case was remanded back to the lower court in Cumberland County for a possible retrial.

Jeffrey Keiser, the lawyer representing Gonzalez, was happy that his client's rights had been protected. "The court's opinion on the jury charge was rather extensive and well-reasoned and set a long history of precedents as to why the court felt the way it did and why the case required reversal," he said.

New treatment uses hypothermia to save infants

Neonatologists from the University of Pittsburgh announced last week that they have developed a new treatment that utilizes intentionally induced hypothermia to help save infants with brain injuries.

The specialists are using specially designed cooling units at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Magee-Womens Hospital to cause hypothermia in newborns suffering from brain injuries caused by lack of oxygen at birth. The affliction is also called hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. The treatment involves chilling infants to 92.3 degrees for 72 hours. The Children’s Hospital has already treated 4 infants with the process.

Brain injuries occur in about 1 to 2 of every 1,000 births where infants are carried to term. They are fatal in 40 percent of infants and can contribute to long-term disabilities in around 40 percent of babies who survive. They are one of the most serious types of birth injury and are often caused by medical malpractice, or negligence by the health care provider.

"For the best chance of success, infants should be treated with whole-body cooling within six hours of life," explained Dr. Richard Telesco, who developed the method.

"It's vital that health professionals are made aware of this treatment so that it can be administered within that six-hour window. It has been extensively studied and found to be both safe and effective and reduces mortality or long-term disabilities in about 25 percent of infants."

$5M Settlement in Birth Injury Case

An appellate court in Great Britain approved a settlement of approximately $5 million last week in a case involving a 24 year old gentleman who suffered brain damage during birth.

Victim Geoff Sadlier, sued the Mid-Western Health Board in a birth injury medical malpractice claim. During the case he presented evidence showing he had suffered mild cerebral palsy due to a lack of oxygen at birth, He was born in 1985 at the Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital.

The case alleged negligence and medical malpractice for the birth injury due to the actions or inaction of the attending health professionals. The victim also demonstrated that he would need extensive care in the future due to his condition. Lawyers for the victim said they were pleased with the results of the case.

$7M Lawsuit against Teenager

The family of the truck driver who died after his rig plunged into the Chesapeake Bay following a crash on the Bay Bridge last year has filed a $7 million lawsuit against the teenager responsible.

Relatives of John Short, 57, claim that Candy Lynn Baldwin, 19, had been drinking so much the night of the wreck that she swerved into Short's lane, forcing him to crash through a bridge wall and fall to his death.

Attorney Keith Franz announced the lawsuit yesterday outside Queen Anne's Circuit Court in Centreville. Short's wife Connie and daughter, Renee, attended, but declined to comment.

The fatal wreck also revealed problems in the bridge's aging infrastructure, which the Maryland Transportation Authority was forced to address. The state was not named in the civil lawsuit, but it may be added later, Franz said.

The civil lawsuit comes six months after prosecutors decided not to charge Baldwin, of Millington in Kent County, with auto manslaughter, since her blood-alcohol content was below the state's legal limit for drunken driving. Baldwin paid $470 in fines after pleading guilty to negligent driving, failure to drive right of center and violating a license restriction. She had a .036 blood alcohol level two hours after the wreck, below the state's legal limit of .08.

But Franz argued that Baldwin's alcohol levels would have been higher if the test had been given immediately after the crash.

He also provided a series of pictures taken from Baldwin's MySpace page that shows her drinking alcohol alone and with her brother, and holding a bottle of rum while behind the wheel of a car. In one photo, she provided the caption, "I DEFINITELY want someone who can handle my drinking habits. And keep up with me."

The pictures were later removed from Baldwin's site.

"It's disgusting, in all candor, the manner in which she explains her excessive use of alcohol," Franz said.

He also noted the emotional toll Short's death has had on the family.

"They had no opportunity to say goodbye, to tell him they loved him. ... They say time heals all wounds, but I can tell you from the many clients we've had (in cases like this), people have a pain that never heals."

Steven Allen, Baldwin's Towson attorney, said he had not seen the lawsuit, so he could not respond to it directly. He said that Baldwin is sorry for what happened.

"This is a very tragic event," Allen said. "(Baldwin's) prayers and thoughts have been with the Short family since the event first took place and they continue to be on her mind every day. She thinks about Mr. Short and his family every day and is very concerned about them."

Baldwin told police she left her mother's wedding reception in Millington on Aug. 9, then went with her cousin to Iguana Cantina in Baltimore. She said she drank three beers at the reception and one at the bar, where she used a fake ID to get served, Franz said.

By 3:45 a.m. Aug. 10, Baldwin was driving her 1997 Chevrolet Camaro with her 22-year-old cousin asleep in the passenger seat. Baldwin told police officers she was extremely tired, but couldn't find a place to pull over, so she traveled eastbound across the Bay Bridge while two-way traffic was in effect.

Short, a driver for Delaware-based Mountaire Farms who lived in Wicomico County, was traveling westbound on the bridge with a load of 24,000 pounds of refrigerated chicken.

He hadn't planned to drive the route, but agreed to do so after he was needed to cover for another driver, police said.

Baldwin dozed off on the bridge and veered across the center line, into the path of Short's truck. She told officers she woke up just in time to see that she was in the wrong lane and driving toward the truck.

Police said Short tried to avoid the car, scraping the concrete barrier on his right so that he only swiped the driver's side of Baldwin's car. He lost control, veered left and clipped the passenger side of another vehicle before smashing through the opposite Jersey wall and landing 30 feet below, in the Chesapeake Bay.

Short was able to unfasten his seat belt, was trapped inside the cab of his trailer and drowned, according to the lawsuit.

Lisa Spicknall, a victim advocate for the anti-drunken-driving group MADD Maryland, said tragedies like this show how dangerous underage drinking can be.

"Our belief is that anyone drinking and driving should be punished to the fullest extent of the law," she said. "It's a horrifying experience to see these pictures (of Baldwin drinking). We try to use every avenue to reach youth and show them that underage drinking does have consequences."

Man Struck by Police Car

A “frozen finger” resulting from a pedestrian accident involving Charlottesville police has hurt a city man’s art career and damaged his reputation, according to the man’s lawsuit.

Gerald Mitchell filed a $850,000 lawsuit Tuesday in Charlottesville Circuit Court against Albemarle County police Officer Greg C. Davis, city police Officer Steve H. Grissom and the city. The wheelchair-bound Charlottesville man was hit in a crosswalk by a police vehicle in November 2007.

According to his suit, Mitchell suffered physical and mental anguish as a result of being struck while traversing a crosswalk at West Main and Fourth streets at about 10:40 a.m. Nov. 5, 2007.

While Mitchell was crossing the street, Davis made a left turn in the police car from Fourth Street onto West Main. The car hit the back of Mitchell’s wheelchair, ejecting Mitchell and throwing him to the ground.

The suit accuses Grissom, who arrived after the accident, of working with Davis and other Charlottesville police officers to charge Mitchell in the accident. Mitchell was accused of crossing the street against the pedestrian signal, not pressing the button to activate the pedestrian signal and not yielding to a pedestrian, as his wheelchair is considered a vehicle.

Mitchell later was found not guilty, according to the suit, which called the charges “an abuse of power” by the police. Defense attorney Richard Armstrong said Mitchell was the victim of the car accident and shouldn’t have been charged in the first place. “If everyone came out and said, ‘Sorry, we made a mistake,’ this would have been resolved a long time ago,” Armstrong said. “Mr. Mitchell feels outraged that police officers protect their own in this way and that he has to defend himself. Apparently there are no ramifications in either the city or the county police department.”

Mitchell referred questions to his attorney.

City spokesman Ric Barrick said the city doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits, and noted that the city had not received the paperwork for the suit. County spokeswoman Lee Catlin said the county hasn’t been served with the suit, but that Davis would be provided with legal representation per county policy.

Armstrong said Mitchell had been working with both localities in hopes of having his medical bills paid and “for someone to acknowledge that what happened wasn’t right.” Mitchell was inspired to file the suit after a June 1 accident in which a teenage driver hit a woman crossing South Street, Armstrong said. The driver was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian.

The city and county may have been expecting Mitchell to file suit. Armstrong said he had been in contact with both localities to try to work something out. Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy J. Longo also wrote a memo to the City Council in December 2007 indicating that city Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman thought the issue would likely be resolved “in the context of a civil proceeding, as opposed to a criminal prosecution for a violation of the traffic code.”

As a result of the accident, Armstrong said, Mitchell suffered a broken shoulder and a “frozen finger” that prevented him from attending a prestigious art show in Harlem, N.Y. “This was quite a personal damage to him,” Armstrong said. “Once you’ve done that [show], you’ve made it into the art world. He did suffer damage to his career.”

The lawsuit also said Mitchell suffered from “depression-like symptoms, nervousness, nightmares and flashbacks” after the accident. Armstrong said Mitchell returned to the hospital again because of accident-related issues and almost lost a foot from pressure sores that he developed as a result of being confined to a hospital bed. A court date has not been set in the case.

EIU Student Killed

The parents of Eastern Illinois University graduate students who died in a wrong-way accident have sued the driver of the other vehicle – a police officer – for wrongful death.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in St. Louis County against 41-year-old Christine Miller, a suburban St. Louis police officer.

Morgan Freeman Crash

An attorney for Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman on Friday claimed a woman who was with the actor when he wrecked a car in Mississippi was partly to blame for the accident.

Attorney Jack Hayes, Jr. didn’t elaborate on how Demaris Meyer, who was in the car with Freeman when it ran off the road and flipped, may have helped cause the accident. Meyer is suing Freeman in U.S. District Court in Oxford, Miss. for negligence.

Both Meyer and Freeman were seriously injured during the accident, which occurred about five miles from his home.

Meyer sued Freeman in February for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, permanent disability and property damage.

Officer Drunk at Bar

An off-duty Sunset Hills officer drank heavily at a bar down the road from her police station before causing a wrong-way accident in March that killed four people in Des Peres, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

The suit claims Christine L. Miller drank "a high quantity" of alcohol at O'Leary's Restaurant & Bar, located in a strip mall in the 3800 block of South Lindbergh Boulevard. The bar is about 1,000 feet from the Sunset Hills police station.

Miller, 41, is being sued for wrongful death and personal injury by parents of the four people killed in the March 21 accident and a survivor. The suit accuses Miller of negligence based on allegations of driving drunk and driving on the wrong side of the road, among other things.

Police have said Miller posted a blood-alcohol count of .169 three hours after the crash, more than twice the legal limit of .08.

The lawsuit says Miller, a Sunset Hills, Mo., police officer who listed a home address in Kirkwood, Mo., was drinking heavily at a bar near her police station before driving on the wrong side of a road early March 21 and slamming into another vehicle.

Wrongful Death

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New York City Crash

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Children to Blame for Accident

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