Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice

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Faith DeGrand was just 10 when she was diagnosed with congenital scoliosis. To try to prevent the condition from worsening, Faith underwent surgery by a pediatric orthopedist, Dr. Eric Jones. In this surgery, Dr. Jones inserted hardware in Faith’s thoracic spine.

After this surgery, Faith experienced incontinence, numbness in her hands and fingers, and weakness in both legs. Dr. Jones examined Faith, but found nothing wrong. Another doctor took over Faith’s care after Dr. Jones went on vacation.

Faith’s condition worsened. Dr. Jones then performed another surgery to loosen the hardware he had placed in Faith’s thoracic spine during the first surgery. Despite this effort, Faith’s symptoms worsened. Dr. Jones then went on another vacation. The other doctor, taking over Faith’s medical care, ordered an MRI. Faith underwent yet another surgery, this time to remove the hardware, which had led to decreased blood flow to and indirect compression of her cervical spine.
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A chest X-ray of Marilyn Day, 76, revealed a suspicious lung mass several weeks after she had been admitted to Firelands Regional Medical Center. She was suffering from leg weakness, confusion and disorientation when she was admitted. A repeat X-ray showed the mass had shrunk.

An MRI of the brain revealed multiple ring-enhancing lesions with restricted diffusion, consistent with a brain abscess or metastatic cancer. Neurologist Dr. Jean Barylski Danner examined Day and reviewed the MRI. She told Day’s family that she was likely suffering from metastatic brain cancer.

Testing for lung cancer was negative. After an infectious disease consultation, and a week after Day’s consultation with Dr. Barylski Danner, she was administered antibiotics to treat a brain abscess. A neurosurgeon performed an aspiration procedure.
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David Marr, 72, was undergoing cancer treatments at a cancer institute. He underwent a kidney function test, which was ordered by a nurse practitioner, Janet Kunsman. Radiologist Dr. Sachin Saboo then authorized a CT scan with IV contrast.

After the contrast dye was applied, Marr suffered kidney failure. Subsequently, he required dialysis until his death three years later. The finalized results of the renal function test, which arrived after Marr’s kidney failure, showed that he had worsening kidney function.

Marr’s estate sued Kunsman and Saboo alleging negligent authorization and administration of contrast dye on a patient with worsening kidney function. Marr argued that the defendants should have reviewed the finalized test result before contrast dye was administered.
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Ana Mejia, 35, was admitted to an undisclosed hospital to undergo a tubal ligation following the birth of her third child. The procedure was done by a doctor employed by the Public Health Service. Although she experienced postoperative bleeding and dizziness, she was discharged with a prescription for pain killers.

The next day, Mejia allegedly called her treating medical clinic, with the help of a friend, to report that she was experiencing high fever and significant pain. Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she was taken by ambulance to the hospital the next day.

Mejia went into septic shock, renal failure and other problems that required emergency surgery. Cultures from this surgery revealed Group A streptococcus and candida. Mejia was then taken to the ICU where she suffered cardiac arrest and several strokes.
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Shelva Kostrzewa underwent a face lift that was completed by a plastic surgeon, Dr. Thomas Beird. She was 64 years old at the time. It was alleged in the lawsuit that she suffered severe scarring and disfigurement, which led to emotional distress.

Kostrzewa sued Dr. Beird and his professional corporation alleging he mishandled the procedure by thinning her skin excessively and stitching her skin too tightly. This process led to blood flow problems and tissue death. She also maintained that Dr. Beird chose not to diagnose and treat the thinning skin and stitching her skin too tightly when she visited the doctor three times after the surgery.

The jury returned a verdict of $400,000.
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The U.S. District Court judge in Chicago handled a bench trial medical malpractice case under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The result was a judgment in favor of a plaintiff that included $13.75 million in noneconomic damages for what the court described as “glaring” medical malpractice that caused the plaintiff to suffer “complete and irreversible failure of both kidneys.”

The U.S. District Court Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel denied the federal government’s motion for reconsideration.

The plaintiff, Kevin Clanton, spent 31 months on dialysis before receiving a kidney transplant. The court stated, “It is reasonably expected that Clanton will spend at least two decades on an extensive daily regimen of anti-rejection and immunosuppressive medications, he will endure two additional rounds of dialysis that will last at least 3-5 years each and he will undergo one, perhaps two more kidney transplants, not to mention periodic hospitalizations, counseling services and a dizzying array of medications, doctor appointments and lab tests.”
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The plaintiff Mary Sikora was the independent administrator of the estate of Chris Allan Sikora, deceased. Sikora brought a lawsuit against the defendant, Nirali R. Parikh, M.D., and ManorCare of Elk Grove Village Ill., LLC d/b/a ManorCare of Elk Grove Village, in the death of her husband from a pulmonary embolism. The case went to a jury trial; the jury returned a verdict in favor of both defendants.

Sikora moved for a new trial based in part on Dr. Parikh’s attorney’s closing argument. Dr. Parikh’s attorney asked the jury to place itself in Dr. Parikh’s shoes. The attorney allegedly violated a pretrial in limine order, which barred any mention of Sikora’s initial refusal to be transferred to the hospital on the day he died.

The trial court agreed that Dr. Parikh’s attorney had made improper remarks during closing argument and found the cumulative effect of those errors sufficiently prejudicial to warrant a new trial.
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Mr. Doe, 54, sought treatment for his hypertension from Dr. Roe, his primary care physician. Urinalysis showed two to three red blood cells in Mr. Doe’s urine. However, Mr. Doe was not advised of this condition.

At his annual physical about two weeks later, a screening urine test was normal. Approximately two years later, a different family practice physician referred Mr. Doe to a urologist after a urine test showed blood and red blood cells in Mr. Doe’s urine. This led to a diagnosis of metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Mr. Doe died of his kidney cancer disease within three years. He was survived by his two adult children.
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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 the time, suffered a brain herniation resulting from hydrocephalus. Alexis and her parents sued two hospitals claiming that her untimely transport to a higher-level hospital led to a delayed treatment and late brain surgery to attempt to release the pressure on the brain.

At the jury trial, over the plaintiff’s objections, the first hospital offered the deposition testimony of the pediatric neurosurgeon who operated on Alexis. The doctor answered hypothetical questions about how he would have treated Alexis had she arrived at the second hospital 1-2 hours earlier. The jury found in favor of the defendants.
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Sharon Kimble, 50, suffered from chronic back pain. She took opioid pain medication and other drugs to alleviate her back pain. Kimble underwent back surgery at Laser Spine Institute to address her back pain.

Following this surgery, she was under the care of an anesthesiologist, Dr. Glen Rubenstein. Dr. Rubenstein ordered several essential nervous system depressants, including Dilaudid and Flexeril for pain control.

The Laser Spine Institute discharged Kimble two hours after her surgery to a nearby hotel with a prescription for oxycodone and instructions to continue her preoperative medications, including other central nervous system depressants.
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