Articles Posted in In The News

Medical negligence, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Every year, the number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed on average now numbers more than 85,000.

In the study conducted by Healthcare Global, an estimated 12,000 people die as a result of having unnecessary surgical procedures, while an additional 7,000 people die as a result of errors in medication.

Such incidents can be reduced and the medical malpractice lawsuits can be avoided by healthcare providers by enacting precautions in several areas.

An Illinois couple from Cook County has filed a malpractice suit against a podiatrist and a healthcare center alleging wrongful treatment.

According to court documents, Jadwiga Opiela and Marian Zak filed their lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court earlier this month against Dr. Vadim Goshko and European Foot and Ankle Surgical Care, alleging negligence.

The complaint alleges that in July 2014, Goshko practiced careless judgment while performing procedure involving a bilateral partial plantar fasciotomy to Opiela’s right foot after Opiela had complained of bilateral heel pain on a previous visit to the center.

A multi-million dollar fraud scheme in Boston has resulted in one woman being convicted of multiple counts of money laundering, conspiracy and healthcare fraud.

According to court documents, Janice Troisi, a clinical director and registered nurse at the home nursing agency has been convicted of a total of 10 counts of healthcare fraud, 7 counts of money laundering, and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud for her involvement for her involvement in the Medicare scheme. Troisi has been sentenced to a 92 month prison term.

Troisi’s co-conspirator in the scheme, registered nurse Michael Galatis, submitted more than $27 million in for medically unnecessary, fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid that spanned over a period of six years. Several physicians and nurses complained stating that patients did not need the home health services, but those complaints went ignored to insure the revenue being billed was consistent. Investigations by the Department of Justice revealed that Troisi and Galatis trained nurses to manipulate Medicare assessment forms. Nearly 1,400 patients were misleadingly documented as having been treated.

A New Jersey pediatrician has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after having fraudulently submitted bills to Medicaid for more than 1,000 wound repair procedures that were never performed.

Dr. Badawy M. Badawy, 52, of Bayonne, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to Count One of an indictment charging him with health care fraud. Judge Thompson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.  

Badawy admitted in court that he regularly submitted claims for procedures that were never performed. As a result of his false claims, Badawy received $196,911 in Medicaid payments.

Dr. Katherine Mitchell, the physician who famously blew the whistle on the shameful treatment of Veterans at the Phoenix Veteran’s Administration hospital expressed her disappointment at the lack of progress in improving the situation. Mitchell also said that she would advise new physicians who wanted to join the VA to avoid it.

Dr. Mitchell expressed her views before congress and said that the Veteran’s Administration did not protect her confidentiality as a whistleblower. This lack of protection led to her being reassigned to a different department and subjected her to retaliation by fellow employees.

Charges of malpractice and reports of secret waiting lists have not been addressed according to Mitchell. When the scandal broke a little over a year ago, it launched a nationwide investigation of VA facilities and procedures and led to several hearings before congress in order to address the issues that Mitchell alleged.

Legislators are looking to introduce the idea of a kind of surgical “black box” that would collect data while surgeries are being performed and give an idea of what went wrong if a patient responds poorly to the procedure. The devices can also help doctors avoid mistakes.

Wisconsin lawmaker, Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee), introduced the legislation that would in essence permit patients to opt to have their surgeries recorded both visually and audibly. If the bill passes, patients would be able to opt to have their surgeries recorded on video.

The law would be called ‘Raina’s Law’ named after 19-year old Raina Ferraro who went into cardiac and respiratory arrest during her surgery due to negligent administration of anesthesia. The law would require all operating rooms to be equipped with cameras for recording surgeries.

Allegations of several counts of medical malpractice are being made by the mother of a severely disabled child against a treatment facility that required her son to be rushed to the emergency room.

According to court documents, Sarah Washington has filed a lawsuit both as an individual and on behalf of her son who is currently a minor against Dr. Cassandara D. Youmans, M.D., Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans and Padua House. Washington brought the lawsuit before in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court on May 29th.

Washington’s son , who suffers from Cri-du-chat syndrome and cannot see, walk, or talk, was a resident of Padua House for approximately six years. Washington alleges that her son was doing very well at the home prior to a new administration taking over in October 2012.

The surviving family members of a man who died after an alleged botched surgery and treatment have accused a doctor of malpractice in the man’s death.

According to court documents, Mary Guardiola, who is acting as administrator of the estate of Richard Guardiola, filed a lawsuit on July 22nd in Cook County Circuit Court against Dr. Anthony San Diego on allegations of medical malpractice and negligence.

Documents state that on April 12, 2013, Dr. San Diego, attempted to perform a laparoscopic intra-abdominal lysis of adhesions surgery on the plaintiff knowing that the patient, Richard Guardiola had cirrhosis of the liver, splenomegaly, hepatitis C as well as a low platelet court.

The constitutionality of a change in Florida’s medical malpractice law has been upheld by a state appeals court on Tuesday.

The appeals court ruled in part that some of the rights to privacy of patients are waived when a malpractice lawsuit is pursued.

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal made the decision which stated that a 2013 law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature were in fact constitutional.

A former patient who was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is accusing the hospital of medical negligence in a lawsuit.

The plaintiff in the suit claims that she was sexually assaulted last year by a certified nursing assistant after she undergone a surgery at the hospital.

The unnamed plaintiff alleges that the hospital had failed to adequately respond to her complaint of sexual assaults involving the same employee that date back more than a decade.