Articles Posted in In The News

Parents of a boy in Putnam County, West Virginia have filed suit against the Marshall University Board of Governors and Teays Pediatrics’ Dr. Ann Lambernedis, claiming that the parties were careless and negligent when caring for their son who was 7-years-old at the time. Their neglect in care led to the boy entering a permanent vegetative state.

According to reports, Tabatha and Karle Griffith took their son to Teays Pediatrics on December 13, 2010. The child had been vomiting over the course of a week. The child was seen by Dr. Lambernedis who failed to properly diagnose the cause of his vomiting. There was also no record of the child’s pulse having been taken.

Just a few days later, the parents called the doctor several times to report that their son was still vomiting. They were able to see Dr. Lambernedis again on December 27. The doctor failed to diagnose the boy a second time, and there was no record of the boy’s pulse being taken on that visit either. The child continued to vomit intermittently and the parents returned to the doctor on July 18, 2011. Dr. Lambernedis referred the family to a gastroenterologist.

A mother filed a lawsuit against the University of Chicago Medical Center, claiming that her son was born with a brain injury due to several missteps taken by medical professionals. A Cook County jury heard the mother’s case and believed her. The jury awarded the family $53 million.

According to reports, the award went to Lisa and Isaiah Ewing and included $28.8 million for the future care needs of the 12-year-old boy. Isaiah requires the use of a wheelchair due to severe cerebral palsy. He also requires his mother to clothe and feed him on a daily basis. John Kirkton, a reporter in Chicago, said that it is the biggest birth injury verdict the county has seen.

Several mistakes were made by doctors and nurses when Ewing went to the hospital at 40 weeks pregnant. She went to the hospital because she noticed that her baby was moving less. Medical staff, according to the lawsuit, failed to properly monitor the mother and child, did not perform a timely c-section, and lacked awareness of abnormal rates of the fetal heartbeat.

The most current legislative sessions in the state came to an end just over a week ago. At least one piece of legislation was not taken to a vote, making it the second year that the bill died in session. Lavern’s Law, the bill in question, would ultimately change the way that medical malpractice cases are handled in the state.

Currently, there is no date of discovery law in New York. In our state, the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice suit begins at the time of misdiagnosis. In other state that utilize date of discovery, the time limit begins when the misdiagnosis or injury is discovered. This can make a vast different in the right that someone has to file suit.

People in the medical establishment argue that states who utilize date of discovery also put a cap on total damages, something New York does not want to do. Even though the sate Assembly passed Lavern’s Law last year, the Senate has failed to pass it. This year, nothing was done with the bill at all.

A woman in Chicago filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on June 9, naming Present St. Joseph Hospital-Chicago, Dr. Florence Mussat and Presence Chicago Hospitals Network as negligent in injuries she suffered.

According to the complaint, Sharrone M. Travis had liposuction performed on her buttocks. Her lawyers are alleging that surgeons performed the procedure improperly. They are also alleging that hospital staff failed to adequately check on Travis after the procedure. Both of these things contributed to a necrotizing infection post-surgery which caused severe pain.

The plaintiff is seeking at least $50,000 in damages, which is the jurisdictional limitation of the court. She is also seeking court costs. When the lawsuit will begin is unknown at this time.

Just last week, a Supreme Court jury found two doctors and a hospital liable in the death of a man after ignoring his symptoms.

According to court documents and other reports released, Walter Friedlander, 63, was admitted to Kingston Hospital on February 13, 2011 after presumably suffering with pain and discomfort. Friedlander was seen first by Dr. Doug Heller, an internist. A gastroenterologist, Dr. Nicholas Golden, was later brought in as a consultant. Unfortunately, the two doctors never communicated with one another, and neither doctor returned to diagnose Friedlander.

Friedlander’s family’s lawyers said that the man was never treated, nor did anyone call him after his release to see how he was feeling. The gentleman died on February 15, 2011 due to a severe infection.

In Montgomery County, Ohio, a jury awarded $6 million to a man after he filed suit against Good Samaritan Hospital and Dr. Cheryl Gill.

According to the lawsuit, the man’s wife passed away due to a gestational hypertension stroke. Dr. Gill failed to diagnose pre-eclampsia and eclampsia while the woman was pregnant. She died in 2009 after an emergency Cesarean section. The attorney’s for the man said that Dr. Gill was not qualified to handle pregancies involving complications.

The lawsuit further stated that the woman had been discharged from the hospital while she was exhibiting symptoms. Her release was approved even though her symptoms were worsening. The woman was brought back to the hospital and was not visited by Dr. Gill.

A doctor in Oakland County was previously sentenced to 45 years in prison for putting patients through treatments they didn’t need. He didn’t do this to just a few patients, according to court records, but hundreds. Dr. Farid Fata chose to appeal his sentence and a judge denied that appeal.

According to the appeal, Fata’s attorneys focused on the way that the sentencing guidelines were calculated. His attorney’s also questioned whether or not it was proper to allow the number of large number of victims to speak in court. The appeals court handed down a 3-0 decision that the doctor’s attorney’s arguments had no merit.

In 2014, Fata pleaded guilty to money laundering, fraud and conspiracy. According to prosecutors, there were 553 victims along with several insurance companies. Insurers and Medicare together paid out at least $17 million for treatments. Patients who were told that they had cancer and opted to undergo chemotherapy were given excessive treatments.

A jury trial began last week in a case that involves allegations of negligence against St. Clare Hospital & Health Services, in Wisonsin, and Dr. Andrew Nelson.

According to court documents, 19-moth-old Caleb Gawronski began to have seizures in his Baraboo home on September 8, 2012. His mother put him in the car and took him to St. Clare Hospital for treatment.

Dr. Nelson was in court last week answering to why he was unable to provide air to the boy who wasn’t breathing. Nelson claimed that there were other procedures that needed to happen first. Plaintiffs suggested that the doctor failed to lock a valve on a piece of medical equipment that would have increased the air getting into the toddler’s lungs.

According to two researchers who published their study in the British Medical Journal, the third leading cause of death in the United States is medical error. A response to the analysis, published in the same journal, says that the results are flawed and misconstrued.

The researchers who oppose the study’s results say that the methodology used was “precarious.” The evidence used in the analysis was taken from differing studies and compared with the country’s top-ranking causes of death. Kaveh G. Shojania and Mary Dixon-Woods, the pair who say that the original study is flawed, say that many others find the numbers difficult to believe.

According to Shojania and Dixon-Woods, a scientist and a professor, there are 700,000 deaths that occur in hospitals throughout the country each year. If the study’s numbers are to be believed, it would mean that more than 200,000 deaths were the result of medical error.

The Albany legislative session has very few days left but in those days, medical malpractice is sure to be a hot topic. The people of New York may be given more time to sue doctors for medical malpractice.

Lavern’s Law, as it is called, is being discussed by legislators. It is named after Lavern Wilkinson, a woman who died after being misdiagnosed in 2012. The fate of the law is in the balance as lawmakers are getting ready to put a halt to the current session.

Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein (D-Brooklyn) explained that the law would give citizens more time to sue for medical malpractice. More people would be allowed their day in court. It is a simple change, Weinstein explained. Instead of the 15-month statute beginning from the time of the error, time would start ticking when the mistake was discovered.