Medical Malpractice

August 2, 2009

Montefiore Hospital to pay $19.2 M for Medical Malpractice

A paralyzed father of three plans to move from a nursing facility back home with his family after winning a $19.2 million negligence award against Montefiore Medical Center earlier this month.

Wilfredo Figueroa, 58, was working as a radiology technician on Sept. 22, 2004, when he was admitted to Montefiore, complaining of severe back pain.

The Bronx hospital’s staff failed to diagnose a spinal abscess- an infection on his spinal cord – which rapidly led to his permanent paralysis, according to lawyer Edward Bithorn and court documents.

August 1, 2009

Hepatitis C Medical Malpractice Claims Can Proceed

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The central figure of an investigation into the hepatitis C outbreak might have been impaired by a stroke a year ago, but he is competent enough to face medical malpractice charges, according to the state Board of Medical Examiners.

Based on results from an examination performed by Dr. Thomas Kinsora, a clinical neuropsychologist, Dr. Dipak Desai is “borderline” in regards to his ability to assist defense attorneys in his medical board licensing hearing.

August 1, 2009

$11 M Medical Malpractice Cerebral Palsy Settlement

by Dr. Shezad Malik

An $11 million settlement has been reached between a suburban hospital and the family of a Chicago girl, now 4, whose birth injuries were so profound she can’t speak, walk or even eat.

Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood agreed to the payout this week, something Stacie Burek said will ensure her daughter receives the medical help necessary to deal with her severe cerebral palsy, a condition that has left the girl in a wheelchair with a feeding tube through her stomach.

July 31, 2009

Las Cruces NM Man Gets $1M Settlement in Medical Malpractice Case

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A jury has awarded $1 million to a Las Cruces man who alleged a surgeon was negligent in repairing a colon perforation after a colonoscopy.

General surgeon Dr. David Friedman operated on Michael Salopek in February 2005, to repair a tiny perforation he had sustained during a colonoscopy, Las Cruces attorney Marci Beyer said.

However, Friedman did not find the perforation, which continued to leak into Salopek’s abdominal area for 11 days. Medical expenses just to find the perforation totaled $165,000, Beyer said.

July 30, 2009

Texas Investigating Scrub Tech in Hepatitis C Medical Malpractice Claim

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A surgery technician at the center of a hepatitis C scare in Colorado involving the alleged swapping of patients’ clean needles for her dirty ones is being investigated in Texas because she previously worked in a Houston-area hospital.

Kristen Diane Parker, who worked at Christus St. John Hospital in Nassau Bay from May 2005 to October 2006, was indicted in Denver last week on 42 criminal counts. Prosecutors allege 19 people contracted the disease after she swapped the needles.

The Texas and Harris County health departments launched an investigation earlier this month that is still in the early stages, according to officials of both agencies. They said the investigation began after they learned Parker worked in Houston.

Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas health department, said the focus is on whether Parker had hepatitis C while at Christus St. John. Only then would patients be notified, she said.

July 29, 2009

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit: Doctors Caused Leg Amputation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Steuben County couple has sued a Fort Wayne orthopedics firm, alleging a missed diagnosis for a blood clot caused the wife to lose her leg.

Filed in Allen Superior Court this week by Jeanette Presley and Allen Presley, the lawsuit against Orthopaedics Northeast seeks compensatory damages and comes after the couple received a ruling from the state’s Medical Review Panel that Orthopaedics Northeast failed to comply with appropriate standards of care, according to court documents.

July 29, 2009

Veteran Blinded During Routine Operation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A federal judge has awarded $749,000 to the estate of a World War II veteran who lost much of his vision during surgery at the Veterans Administration medical facility in Jackson, MS.

U.S. District Judge Tom Lee said in a footnote to Monday’s 18-page ruling that he was inclined to award more money for Charles West’s suffering, “which clearly has been extreme,” but was limited by Mississippi’s pain-and-suffering cap in such lawsuits.

West, claimed in his suit that he suffered damage to the corneas of both eyes during a blepharoplasty, a procedure to remove sagging skin between the eyebrow and the eye lid.

July 27, 2009

Medical Malpractice Trial Over Addicted Doctor Begins

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A former doctor who admitted he was abusing prescription drugs agreed to settle the medical malpractice lawsuit against him in St. Louis County court this week.

The patient, John W. Campbell, accused Michael Impey of putting a hole in his colon during a medical procedure in 2006. About a foot of Campbell’s colon was removed as a result of the injury.

Impey, who lost his medical license soon after the incident because he was abusing pain pills, agreed to settle Tuesday for an undisclosed amount.

July 26, 2009

Airman Loses Legs After Gallbladder Operation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A 20-year-old airman was in critical condition at University of California Davis Medical Center on Monday, after losing both legs in what his family described as complications of routine gallbladder surgery.

Neither the medical center nor Travis Air Force Base, where Airman 1st Class Colton Read underwent surgery this month, would comment on specifics of his case.

Travis said only that a “serious medical incident” occurred at its David Grant Medical Center on July 9 and is being investigated by the base, a national hospital accrediting commission and the U.S. Surgeon General.

Read, who was stationed at Beale Air Force Base east of Marysville, Calif., was supposed to get his gallbladder removed laparoscopically at the Travis hospital, said his wife, Jessica Read.

July 25, 2009

Wrongful Death by Dentist After Tools Lost

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A Winter Park Florida dentist who twice dropped tools down the throat of an elderly patient — a 90-year-old man who died after the second incident — is being sued for negligence.

Relatives of Charles K. Gaal Jr. recently filed the suit in Orange County Circuit Court against Dr. Wesley Meyers of Aloma Park Dental.

They accuse Meyers of failing to take precautions to guard against dropping and losing his dental tools down Gaal’s throat and failing to handle his tools properly during the second incident, which occurred May 1, 2007.

On Oct. 4, 2006, while he was performing work on Gaal, Meyers dropped an “implant screwdriver tool” down the patient’s throat.

Gaal swallowed the tool and two days later, he underwent a colonoscopy. The tool was removed from his intestines, the suit said.