Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog
All Baltimore, Maryland hospitals have been sued for allegedly causing a patient to die due to medical malpractice and the University of Maryland hospital is no exception. For example, there is the case of Elliot Muti. This 65 year old man allegedly died of medical malpractice about a month and a half after he experienced a heart attack (myocardial infarction). Before he was treated at the University of Maryland hospital, he underwent a cardiac catheterization which revealed a ninety-nine percent blockage of a heart artery that was not fit for a stent. He then was transferred to the University of Maryland hospital for heart bypass surgery. As part of this surgery, a tube was placed down Mr. Muti’s throat (intubation) to help him breathe. Later, the presence of air in the man’s chest cavity (a “pneumomediastinum”) was discovered. A bronchoscopy revealed an injury to the trachea. Ultimately, the man developed pneumonia, an abnormal heart rhythm (ventricular tachycardia), and kidney (renal) failure which led to his death. A copy the judicial opinion regarding the case can be found here.
Medical Malpractice Case Against An Ambulance Company
The mother to a son born with cerebral palsy will eventually receive the full judgment of $10 million awarded to her by a Florida jury for medical malpractice, but she’ll have to wait for half of it. In 2003, while six months pregnant, the woman was to be transported after one hospital determined it didn’t have the right equipment to handle a premature baby and another said it lacked specialists for extremely premature births. Both of those hospitals, and doctors from each, were originally involved, but settled for a total of $1.4 million. Ultimately, however, the woman gave birth on the way to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando while in an ambulance. The child survived but suffered severe brain damage as a result of a lack of oxygen. In a medical negligence case, a jury found the Florida ambulance provider, EVAC, negligent for both the care they provided and for accepting the initial transport order.
Botched Circumcisions: Medical Instrument Malfunctions and Physician Malpractice
Recently, a New York District Judge ordered Mogen Circumcision Instruments of New York to pay compensatory and punitive damages totaling $10.8 million to a Florida boy and his parents following a medical instrument malfunction. Despite the instrument maker’s claims that injury arising from the use of their Mogen clamp was impossible, the boy lost a portion of his penis. This is not the first time Mogen has been at the center of a circumcision injury lawsuit. Mogen was involved in a 2007 Massachusetts lawsuit where it was forced to pay $7.5 million. In the current case, the baby lost the entire head (glans) of his penis. The judgment amount was based on the court’s determination the Mogen had to pay for both medical expenses and the years of therapy that the child will need.
Brain Damage to Child Surrounding Delivery – Medical Malpractice
A multi-million dollar cerebral palsy medical malpractice lawsuit recently settled out of court. Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii ultimately paid a family $11 million dollars in the settlement following a series of serious medical errors resulting in severe brain damage to their child. The child, who was born in 2005, was deprived of oxygen at birth and now suffers from cerebral palsy. A breakdown in communication amongst doctors triggered an hour-long delivery in which the child was born with her umbilical cord wrapped tightly around her neck. Round-the-clock care will likely be required for the rest of her life. This medical negligence case was not the result of misdiagnosis, but rather stemmed from a failure by doctors to take essential steps quickly enough to help the child while she was in distress during birth. The series of medical errors continued when doctors tried to resuscitate the child after delivery but mistakenly pumped air into her stomach, instead of lungs, when the respiratory tube was placed in her esophagus by an inexperienced intern.
Federal Lawsuit Against Dr. John A. Kiely For Unnecessary Eye Procedures
As I stated in an earlier post, eye doctor Dr. John Kiely has been sued by the federal goverment for fruad for allegedly performing unnecessary procedures. Several people have asked me for a copy of the Federal Goverment’s civil fraud lawsuit againat eye doctor Dr. John Kiely. Here it is: Download file
Dr. John A. Kiely Accused of Fraud and Malpractice For Unnecessary Eye Procedures
A Baltimore eye doctor has been accused by the U.S. government of committing fraud by billing thousands and thousands of dollars for hundreds of unnecessary eye procedures that he performed on dozens of people at an outpatient clinic owned by Bon Secours Hospital. The accusations are set forth in a federal lawsuit which claims that between 10/29/02 and 4/14/09 Dr. John Arthur Kiely performed laser eye surgery on patients who did not need the procedure, and thus falsely billed Medicare and Medicaid for the unnecessary procedures. Dr. Kiely also has offices on St. Paul Street and Mercy Medical Center.
Medical malpractice by failing to diagnose colon cancer
An Indiana jury has awarded a $2.5 million verdict to a former police officer who claimed that his doctor committed medical malpractice by failing to diagnose his colon cancer in 2004. The verdict will be reduced to Indiana’s cap of $1.25 million on medical malpractice cases. The man claimed that he complained of rectal bleeding and other gastric complaints to the doctor, who failed to order either a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy to rule out colon cancer, although an upper G.I. test was ordered due to some other complaints. The man later moved to another state and went to another doctor several years later with the same complaint of rectal bleeding. That doctor ordered testing in 2006 that found the cancer was at Stage 4 and incurable. The man now is 42 years old and has been given a prognosis of less than a year to live. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.
Malpractice / Negligence Involving Ulcer Treatment
The surviving family of a 37 year old Alabama man has won a $3 million jury verdict from a local hospital. The man died a few days after surgery for a duodenal ulcer. The family claimed that the man bled to death after negligent surgery, and negligent follow-up care after discharge. Specifically, the family alleged that the man’s ulcer, a perforation in the first section of the small intestine, was large and not treatable by the standard surgical procedures. The family also alleged that the man was sent home after surgery with a very low blood count and was not adequately examined by his doctor before being discharged. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.
Malpractice Involving Leaky Heart Value
A Montana woman and her four children have been awarded a $1.7 million verdict in a medical malpractice / wrongful death case arising from the death of her husband. The family alleged that a doctor failed to properly treat the woman’s husband for a known heart valve condition, commonly referred to as a leaky valve, and that the doctor should have referred the man to a heart specialist after he started having chest pain. Instead, the family alleged that the doctor misdiagnosed the chest pain as a torn muscle. The man died approximately one year later because he did not receive a replacement valve. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.
Maryland Hospitals Penalized for Preventable Complications
Nine Maryland hospitals face financial penalties for having far too many patients contracting preventable medical conditions such as infections, pneumonia and bed sores. Those hospitals committing medical malpractice are Prince George’s Hospital Center, Doctors Community Hospital, Laurel Regional Hospital, Union Hospital in Cecil County, Montgomery General Hospital, Civista Medical Center in Southern Maryland, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Washington Adventist Hospital and University of Maryland Medical Center. The penalties were handed down by the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission, which sets rates that hospitals can charge. The evaluation and penalties are designed to improve patient safety and lower health care costs by linking hospital performance with their payments.
Maryland Cardiologist indicted for unnecessary cardiac stents
A grand jury has indicted a cardiologist in Salsibury, Maryland, Dr. John McLean, accusing him of health care fraud for allegedly submitting insurance claims for inserting unnecessary cardiac stents, ordering unnecessary tests and procedures and falsely documenting patient records. In addition to jail time, the indictment seeks forfeiture of more than $519,000 and two real estate parcels. The indictment states that Dr. McLean performed cardiac catheterizations on patients at Peninsula Regional Medical Center from late 2003 to 2007, and that he falsely recorded that patients’ coronary arteries were 70 percent blocked when they were not. Generally, patients must have a 70 percent blockage before stents are considered medically necessary.
Connecticut Jury Awards Over $1.3 million in Medical Malpractice Case
A Connecticut jury has awarded more than $1.3 million in a medical malpractice case. In the case, the plaintiff sued her oncologists alleging that they treated her for years for the wrong form of cancer, which led to the removal of part of her intestines and colon.
What makes the case especially unusual is that the case included a claim for damages on behalf of the woman’s longtime partner who had joined the woman in a civil union . In the litigation, a judge threw out the partner’s claims, holding that while the woman had been partners for more than 20 years they were not legally joined at the time of the alleged negligence.
If such a case is brought in Maryland, it will be interesting to see what the result is. Maryland’s wrongful death statute, section 3-904 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, a copy of which is below, allows claims for by a parent, spouse or child of the deceased person. The claim is for emotional distress and financial loss due to the death of family member. These are the most common type of wrongful death claim, as there is frequently a parent, spouse or child of the deceased alive to pursue such a case. The term “spouse” is not defined in the section where the statute is contained, so one certainly could argue that a person who participates in a lawful civil union ceremony is a “spouse” for purposes of the wrongful death act. If that argument doesn’t work, the Maryland wrongful death act includes a provision to allow for economic losses by certain people if there is no parent, spouse or child of the deceased. Those claims are for people related to the deceased by blood or marriage. Again, it can be argued that “marriage” is not defined, so that could cover a person who participates in a lawful civil union ceremony. It’s only a matter of time before this is tested.
As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled many wrongful death cases on behalf of parents, spouses and children of the deceased.
We handle cases like these all of the time in my practice.
Contact Andrew G. Slutkin with further questions or inquiries at 410-385-2786
Medical Malpractice Involving Failure to Treat Infection Leading to Sepsis
A South Carolina jury has awarded a $3 million verdict in a medical malpractice case against a South Carolina hospital and emergency room doctor. The case was filed by the husband of a woman who died after being improperly discharged from the hospital.
Malpractice Causing Injury To Blood Vessel and Nerve During Biopsy
An Ohio jury has awarded $1.5 million dollars to a in a medical malpractice case against two doctors. The jury found that a doctor committed malpractice during a bone marrow biopsy in which a nerve was nicked and an artery was damaged. Apparently, the problem went undiscovered for five days and doctors had to remove two large hematomas from the hip and pelvis. The other doctor was called two days after the procedure but declined to examine the patient. The negligence caused the man to lose he use of his right leg below the knee, and resulted in chronic pain. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.
Radiation Overdose during medical testing
In an article published today, the New York Times has continued its expose on radiation overdoses of patients. Previous articles have focused on over radiation of patients undergoing radiation therapy for cancer. This time, the Times focuses on radiation overdoses of patients undergoing medical tests involving radiation. A copy of the most recent article can be found here.