Dr. Fangxiang Chen was an agent of Mercy Clinic East Communities. Dr. Chen allegedly recommended that the plaintiff, Natalie Avilez, 39, undergo a minimally invasive right-sided microdiscectomy at T7-8. A microdiscectomy procedure is a type of minimally invasive discectomy commonly used to treat a herniated disc. When a herniated disc…
Kiersten Sparger underwent a lumbar laminoplasty performed by Dr. Bakhtiar Yamini, an employee of the University of Chicago Medical Center. The procedure took place on March 30, 2015. On April 27, 2015, Dr. Yamini saw Kiersten again because her wound was leaking spinal fluid. Dr. Yamini instructed his staff to…
Gloria Tirado and Christian Tirado were plenary guardians of Gina Gutierrez, who brought a medical malpractice case against Drs. Konstantin Slavin and Gerald Oh. In the suit, it was alleged that the doctors negligently performed spinal surgery on Gutierrez and were negligent in their follow-up care. In answer, Dr. Slavin…
As Clare Linzell’s parents became concerned about her repetitive behaviors and attention span, they asked a neurologist, Dr. Yassar Awaad, to examine their 4-year-old daughter. Dr. Awaad is a pediatric neurologist. Dr. Awaad conducted several EEGs, diagnosed epilepsy, and prescribed anti-seizure and anti-depressant medications. The epilepsy treatment continued for years…
Patricia Bent underwent a right laminectomy performed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Navinder Sethi. Although the surgery was successful, she developed pain, numbness and tingling on her left side. She returned to Dr. Sethi, who recommended a bilateral laminectomy at L3-4. Unfortunately, during that surgery, Bent suffered a right-side dural tear,…
Samuel Chifalo, 63, fell and hit his head. An ambulance crew arrived and put a cervical collar on before taking him to Parkview Medical Center. At the hospital, the staff noted that Chifalo had difficulty moving his arms and legs. Nevertheless, emergency room physician Dr. Ashley Ostrand did not document…
The Florida Supreme Court has held that the trial court committed reversible error by allowing testimony by deposition of a patient’s treating neurosurgeon. The doctor testified at trial about what he would have done had the patient arrived at the hospital 1-2 hours earlier. Alexis Cantore, 12 years old at…
A man with impaired cardiac, respiratory and cognitive function was diagnosed as having a benign brain tumor. This was a tumor that — in most cases — could have been safely removed by a neurosurgeon. A neurosurgeon, known here only as Dr. Roe, performed the surgery to extract the tumor.…