Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

There has been a lot of publicity lately about 369 people who have received letters from St. Joseph Medical Center stating that cardiac stents placed by Dr. Mark Midei may not have been necessary. I have been told that St. Joseph has a group of five cardiology experts reviewing Dr. Midei’s cardiac stent procedures during a certain time frame, and if all five doctors agree that the study was misread and the stent was unnecessary the patient gets a letter from St. Joseph. But what about the people who had stents placed by Dr. Midei who did not receive such a letter? Could they have cases? The answer is yes.

St. Joseph’s experts are only looking at a certain time frame and it takes five doctors to agree on the misread. Therefore, if you are outside of the time frame that the St. Joseph doctors are looking at, or if only four out of the five doctors agree that you did not need the stent, you will not get a letter. Already, I have three clients who did not receive letters whose studies were misread and who, therefore, did not need stents.

If you had a stent placed by Dr. Midei and did not receive a letter you still should call an experienced Baltimore, Maryland lawyer / attorney who specializes in medical malpractice to have your cardiac catheterization study reviewed by a leading expert. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

So far, I have carefully selected about a three medical malpractice cases against Dr. Mark Midei and St. Joseph Medical Center. In each of these cases, the client contacted me either after getting a letter from St. Joseph Medical Center stating that he or she received an unnecessary stent or after reading articles in the newspaper about Dr. Midei and St. Joseph.

To date, there have been seven articles about this fiasco in the Baltimore Sun, consisting of the following:

1/15/10 Patients learn they might have unneeded stents.

1/22/10 Heart-stent popularity is costly in many ways.

1/23/10 Suit alleges heart implant unnecessary.

1/28/10 Lawyers see profits in stent cases.

1/29/10 Lawyers look for clients in cases of possibly unneeded stents.

2/20/10 Senators launch fraud inquiry of Md. hospital.

2/21/10 St. Joseph acts to put stent crisis behind it.

Rumor has it that St. Joseph Medical Center has a group of five leading cardiology experts reviewing all of Dr. Midei’s cardiac catheterization and stent procedures during a certain time frame, and if all five doctors agree that the study was misread and the stent was unnecessary the patient gets a letter from St. Joseph. The problem with that methodology is that it only looks at a certain time frame and it takes five doctors to agree on the misread.

So far, St. Joseph has sent out 389 letters to patients, but I understand that they are now sending out additional letters. In my personal opinion, by the time they review all of the cases, the number of unnecessary stent cases will be in the thousands. I also believe that Dr. Midei eventually will be charged criminally with fraud.

One case that I have is illustrative of the other cases. In this case, the client had chest pain about five years ago and went to the St. Joseph Medical Center emergency room where his all of his tests were normal. He underwent a catheterization the next day by Dr. Midei and was told he had blockages that required two stents. The St. Joseph Medical Center cardiac catheterization report of that procedure, which was signed by Dr. Midei, states that one of his cardiac arteries was 80% narrowed, for which a stent was put in. A leading cardiac catheterization expert has reviewed the images of that study and informed me that the artery which Dr. Midei claimed was 80% narrowed actually was only 30% narrowed, and did not require a stent (generally, stents are not put in unless the artery is more than 70% narrowed). Dr. Midei also claimed in the report that another of the patient’s cardiac arteries was 90% narrowed, and needed a stent. According to our expert, that second artery was only 50% narrowed, and did not require a stent. In other words, the Dr. Midei lied to this patient, leading him to believe that a stent procedure was necessary when in fact he simply should have been treated with medication. For the past six years, this patient has had a diagnosis of major heart disease when in reality he has no such thing. He must take a blood thinning medication daily for the rest of his life, which requires him to avoid certain food, undergo regular blood testing and increases his susceptibility for hemorrhage if he falls or is injured. Interestingly, this patient has yet to receive a letter from St. Joseph.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland lawyer / attorney who specializes in medical malpractice cases, I have handled numerous medical malpractice cases involving cardiac issues. These cases are perfect examples of medical malpractice. These people deserve compensation. In fact, I believe they have been victims of fraud.

I also believe that people who have been victimized by Dr. Midei and St. Joseph Medical Center are best served by lawyers like me who carefully and individually look at each case and treat each case separately, as opposed to the lawyers who are advertising in the newspaper, on television and the radio, simply trying to grab as many cases as they can. Many of these lawyers are trying to scoop up these cases for the sole purpose of referring them to other attorneys in exchange for a percentage of the attorneys’ fee in the case (sharing attorneys fees with a referring attorney is legal, but advertising for cases you don’t handle is misleading). Others will be forced to lump a large number of cases together, because there is simply no way that these small firms can give these cases the individual attention that they require and deserve, let alone bring them to trial if necessary. If you want to talk to a secretary or paralegal each time you call, or have your case handed off to some attorney unknown to you, and to be known simply as one of dozens and dozens of cases, call one of these lawyers. If, on the other hand, you want to speak to a lawyer each time you call (who knows your name and your case), contact someone like me who treats each case as if it were my own. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A bill currently is being considered by the Maryland legislature would expand a law that protect a doctors from his apology being used against him in court in a medical malpractice case. Currently, Maryland law states that an apology or statement of regret by a doctor is inadmissible in a medical malpractice trial. That statute, which is found in Section 10-920 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, encourages doctors to apologize for an error. In my opinion, it is a good law that encourages a doctor to be honest with a patient.

But a new bill has been proposed to expand the current law so that other things the doctor says along with the apology or statement of regret also would be inadmissible. This does not make sense. We shouldn’t have to exclude statements from evidence to encourage our doctors to be honest with us. Moreover, the effect of this proposed law would be to prohibit from evidence what could be the only evidence of what happened. For example, suppose a patient becomes paralyzed during back surgery and the operative report and all of the other records surrounding the procedure are silent as to what happened (this is exactly what happened in a recent case of mine). Then, suppose the doctor comes into the patient’s room after the surgery and says “I’m really sorry that you are paralyzed (currently this would be inadmissible) and I feel really bad about what happened (also currently inadmissible), but during the surgery I dropped an instrument on then spinal cord by accident because I was really tired from being out the night before with my medical school buddies at a reunion; I just wanted you to know what happened.” The proposed law would make that last part of the doctor’s confession inadmissible. That is absurd. A copy of an article in which I was quoted on the subject can be found here.

In my opinion, the much better approach would be to enact a law that requires our doctors to tell us what happened when there is an adverse outcome that is significant. This would serve the public much better than a law that shields the truth from evidence.

A Connecticut medical malpractice case has been settled for $5.25 million in favor of a woman whose left leg had to be amputated as a result of complications from spinal surgery performed at a local hospital. The lawsuit alleged that a doctor performed an elective "anterior transabdominal approach to the lumbosacral spine," and then her doctor and the hospital staff failed to properly take care of her in the intensive care unit, causing the loss of the leg. While in the ICU, the woman suffered intra-abdominal hemorrhaging, post-operative bleeding, abdominal wounds, and other severe complications that the hospital staff did not appropriately diagnose or treat, resulting in a gangrenous lower leg that resulted in an above-the-knee amputation. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving failed back surgery. Usually, they are caused by improper technique during the surgery, but sometimes it is the post-operative monitoring that is deficient. During the post-operative period, the surgeon and the nurses at the hospital must be alert for changes in the patient’s condition that require further testing and procedures. Usually, simply monitoring the patient’s oxygenation rate, pulse, breathing, responsiveness and blood work is sufficient. These functions usually tell how well a patient is doing. Any abnormalities must be promptly investigated. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A Connecticut medical malpractice case has been settled for $5.25 million in favor of a woman whose left leg had to be amputated as a result of complications from spinal surgery performed at a local hospital. The lawsuit alleged that a doctor performed an elective "anterior transabdominal approach to the lumbosacral spine," and then her doctor and the hospital staff failed to properly take care of her in the intensive care unit, causing the loss of the leg. While in the ICU, the woman suffered intra-abdominal hemorrhaging, post-operative bleeding, abdominal wounds, and other severe complications that the hospital staff did not appropriately diagnose or treat, resulting in a gangrenous lower leg that resulted in an above-the-knee amputation. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving failed back surgery. Usually, they are caused by improper technique during the surgery, but sometimes it is the post-operative monitoring that is deficient. During the post-operative period, the surgeon and the nurses at the hospital must be alert for changes in the patient’s condition that require further testing and procedures. Usually, simply monitoring the patient’s oxygenation rate, pulse, breathing, responsiveness and blood work is sufficient. These functions usually tell how well a patient is doing. Any abnormalities must be promptly investigated. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

The New York Times has just published a very interesting article on Long-term acute care hospitals and the medical malpractice / substandard care that goes on in many of them. According to the Times, these hospitals, have been springing up across the country since the 1980s, and specialize in the long-term care of seriously ill patients. Most of these hospitals are for-profit, which means that there is a strong incentive to provide minimal care. Once long term acute care hospital chain drew increased scrutiny, Select Medical Corporation, which reportedly had a rate about four times that of regular hospitals for serious violations of Medicare rules. According to the Times, Medicare inspection reports of many of these hospitals showed preventable patient injuries and deaths and inadequate staff numbers with high turnover. A copy of the article can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving care of the chronically ill. These patients are at risk for severe bed sores, major infections, falls and death. These people usually are almost totally dependent on others for their care. That makes it even more outrageous when they are not properly care for due to the profit motive.

A Florida jury has awarded the family of a 9-year-old boy $11.1 million in a medical malpractice case arising out of negligent medical care at a local hospital. The family claimed that the child was not properly treated in the emergency room. The child, then 3 months old, had been sick for days with vomiting and diarrhea, so he was taken to the hospital. After a few hours, he was discharged, however, the hospital had failed to check the child for dehydration. By the next morning he could barely breathe, and had to be rushed back to the hospital. By that time, he suffered from an irreversible brain injury. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving sick children. I also have handled several dehydration cases. When people get sick, especially when they vomit or have diarrhea, they can become dehydrated quickly, which creates a serious imbalance in their fluid and electrolyte levels. When these levels become out of sync, they can cause severe sickness, organ damage and even death. In these cases, it is critical for the doctor or hospital to perform a a complete blood count and a simple metabolic panel. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

The Rhode Island Health Department has fined a Rhode Island Hospital $150,000, after finding that a surgical team committed medical malpractice and violated patient safety policies when it operated on the wrong finger of a patient. According to the Health Department, the surgical team failed to properly mark the fingers and failed to follow the rules for “time out.” A time out is a pause before surgery to verify the patient, procedure and operative site. The finger incident was the fifth wrong-site surgery at the hospital since January 2007.
The Health Department reprimanded the hospital, required observation of every surgery for one year, required full adoption of a statewide surgical protocol and required installation of video and audio recording in every operating room. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have only handled one case of wrong site surgery. I believe that most of the medical malpractice attorneys in Baltimore have not handled any such cases, as these cases are extremely rare. I can understand one case happening in a hospital over the course of several years, but 5 cases in the same hospital in 2 years. That place should be shut down. There is no defense to operating on the wrong surgical site over and over. It is medical malpractice, plain and simple

There continue to be many newspaper and television advertisements by lawyers seeking to collect clients for medical malpractice cases against St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson and Dr. Mark Midei for implanting cardiac stents that may not have been necessary. I understand that one of these law firms, which only has a small number of attorneys who regularly handle medical malpractice cases, has collected more than 70 cases. Another one of these law firms has even filed a class action. Still yet another law firm is advertising for cases that it is not even handling; it is simply passing these cases off to medical malpractice lawyers who ultimately will handle the cases.

In my opinion, there is no way that a small law firm handling 70 cases can give each case the proper attention that it deserves. Moreover, there is no way that firm could ever try such a large number of cases effectively. Thus, that firm has a very strong incentive to seek a global resolution of those cases, which may not be in the best interest of its other clients.

As for the firm that has filed a class action, that is simply a strategy of trying to get hold of the clients that have not pursued their cases yet. Since each clients’ case is substantially different, it is unlikely that a class action will be upheld.

As for the law firm that is advertising for cases that it does not even handle, do I really need to even say anything about that.

As I have said before, I only take about a dozen medical malpractice cases a year. Each case I take is handled on an individual basis. That means that I, or one of the attorneys in my department, are personally in charge of each case we handle, from start to finish. When a client calls, they speak with me or one of the attorneys in my department, and not a paralegal. We treat every client the way that we would want to be treated if we have a case. I find this is the best and most effective way to practice, and its why I am successful in almost every case I take.

A Minnesota jury has awarded more than $1.25 million to the family of a 21 month old boy who died due to an infected (gangrenous) appendix that a doctor failed to diagnose and treat. The family claimed that the boy was misdiagnosed on two separate occasions over four days, including the day before he died.

The family alleged that when the doctor examined the boy’s abdomen, the boy cried louder than ever, but the doctor told the boy’s father that the boy’s appendix was fine. Thus, the doctor did not order an ultrasound or CT scan which would have diagnosed the problem. The doctor then diagnosed gastroenteritis. Evidence presented at trial established that the doctor scheduled pediatric patients in 10-minute increments. Thus, the family claimed that he was too busy to give each patient the attention they needed and deserved.

The doctor’s diagnosis of influenza was made over the phone and the family was discouraged from bringing the child into the clinic to be seen. That day, the doctor’s appointment schedule showed that 45 children were scheduled to be seen, and that the doctor was behind schedule. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving children (pediatrics) who have been injured or killed Most of these involve the failure to timely diagnose and treat certain medical conditions that can be fatal, such as bacterial infections and genetic conditions. These cases are always gut-wrenching because of the innocence of children and the parents’ desire to trust what the doctor says.

I also have successfully handled appendix cases. These have all been failure to diagnose and treat inflamed or ruptured appendixes, usually causing severe injury or death. Sadly, a simple and relatively inexpensive CT scan usually will diagnose an inflamed or ruptured infection. Sometimes these CT scans are not read properly, which is even worse because it sends the treating doctors on a wild goose chase looking for other causes of the patient’s symptoms. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A New York hospital has paid $2.9 million to settle the medical malpractice case of a 6-year-old boy who was killed after he was struck in the head by an oxygen tank during an MRI. The boy was lying in an MRI chamber when the machine's magnet pulled in a metal tank that a hospital staffer had brought into the MRI's magnetic field. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here. This is one of a number of recent cases in which people have been severely injured or killed by metal objects that were left in an MRI room. Another report on this case can be found here. A report on these types of cases can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a large number of medical malpractice cases involving the failure of radiology facilities to follow their own written policies, procedures or guidelines. Cases such as there, in which a doctor, hospital or medical facility fails to follow its own standards, are inexcusable. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A Pittsburgh jury has awarded $2.3 million to a woman in a medical malpractice case against a hospital which arose from a complete abdominal hysterectomy she underwent there. The woman went to the hospital to deliver a child and was improperly discharged with a high white blood count that gave her a serious infection requiring a hysterectomy one week later. The woman’s doctor claimed that he never received notice of the abnormal blood work, but the hospital claimed he had. While the blood work results were i the chart, no one appears to have paid attention to them before the woman was discharged. The verdict was for the woman’s pain and suffering. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving abnormal blood work that was never communicated to the right person or acted upon properly. In one case, a woman who was being transferred from a hospital had a severely low electrolyte level but no one acted on it before she was transferred and she died. In another case, a child had a very low white blood count with what is called a left shift, indicating a severe infection. But the hospital sent him home where he went into arrest and died. Cases like these, where abnormal lab reports are in the medical records but no one responds, are inexcusable cases of medical malpractice. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A California couple have won a $16.5 million medical malpractice verdict against a neurosurgeon. The patient suffered a fractured spine while off-roading and was taken to a hospital where the neurosurgeon was on call. Despite the spinal injury, the man was not seen until the next day and not operated on until two days after his injury, cusing paraplegia. The verdict included compensation for future medical care, lost wages and pain and suffering. The couple had previously settled their claims against the hospital for a confidential amount. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases in which we alleged that a doctor or hospital caused paraplegia or quadriplegia. In one case, a man fell and suffered a subluxation (partial displacement) of his spine which needed to be decompressed and realigned so it did not continue to press on the spinal cord. The experienced emergency room doctor recommended immediate decompression but a neurosurgery resident disagreed which resulted in the man waiting hours before the decompression began. During the decompression procedure, he became permanently paralyzed. He lived that way for one year, and then died of complications from the paraplegia. What a sad story.

These cases are extremely complicated, requiring neurosurgery, neurology, life care planning and economics experts. Only an experienced attorney should pursue these cases. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A Texas jury has found a hospital guilty of medical malpractice for its treatment of a 41-year-old woman who died of a heart attack within hours of an emergency room visit. The jury found that the hospital committed willful or wanton negligence” in their treatment of the woman. The jury awarded $1.3 million in damages to the woman, her mother and the woman’s two children. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving the failure to timely diagnose and treat heart attacks. These cases are always troublesome because there are guidelines for which tests should be run on patients with heart attack symptoms (chest pain, difficulty breathing, arm pain, face pain, abnormal EKG, elevated cardiac enzymes, etc. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Recently, a South Carolina jury awarded the family of a newborn $4.4 million dollars for medical malpractice/negligence stemming from the delivery of the child. In their complaint, the family alleged that a nurse failed to properly monitor the baby's fetal heart monitoring strips -- strips that show the heartbeat rate of the baby -- and, as a result, did not realize that the baby was in fetal distress and required emergent medical attention and/or delivery. As a result of this negligence, the family alleged that the baby experienced prolonged periods without oxygen while in utero and during the delivery. The baby was delivered alive, but later diagnosed with cerebral-palsy like complications. At the age of 5, the baby died from these complications.

As experienced medical negligence/malpractice attorneys in the Baltimore, Maryland and Washington D.C. area, we have handled numerous cases involving the negligence of doctors, nurses, and other health care providers involved with the delivery of a baby. These health care providers are charged with providing a certain level of care to both the mother and the baby to ensure that both navigate the labor and delivery process safely. In fact, there are many standards and/or regulations published by reputable medical professional societies, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), that govern the care that should be provided to a mother and baby during the pre-natal, labor and delivery phases. The following are examples of medical mistakes and/or errors that have, in the past, led to our office filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in this context:

(1) failure to monitor a fetal heart monitoring strip
(2) failure to timely perform a cesarean section
(3) failure to diagnose a mother with pre-eclampsia
(4) failure to timely diagnose a placental abruption
(5) improper use of forceps or a vacuum to delivery a child, resulting in a brachial plexus injury to the child.

It has been the experience of this office that the injuries caused by these types of negligence (and others) result in extraordinary medical costs (both past and future) to the family and the unimaginable loss of a healthy life, an emotional/pscyhological loss that is particularly devastating on the injured child's family. If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical negligence in the context of a birth-related injury, call our office for a free consultation.

A Georgia jury has awarded more than $6 million in medical malpractice / wrongful death case on behalf of a husband and his deceased wife’s estate after she developed blood clots and died shortly after undergoing outpatient knee surgery. The woman had knee pain and went to an orthopedic surgeon who ordered an MRI of the knee. That MRI showed something behind the knee which resulted in the the orthopedic surgeon performing outpatient arthroscopic surgery on the woman. The next day, the woman was found dead at home. An autopsy showed that deep venous thromboids had formed at the site of the surgery, and then traveled to the lung causing a pulmonary embolism. Apparently, the orthopedic surgeon ignored several risk factors that should have indicated that blood clotting could be a problem, such as obesity and birth control pills. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a large number of pulmonary embolism malpractice cases. There are clear guidelines from a variety of professional medical organizations, such as the American College of Chest Physicians, which state who should be considered at risk for deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and what should be done to prevent it. Every patient who is undergoing surgery under anesthesia or who is unable to move around on their own should be evaluated for the risk of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. It is a preventable condition in this day and age. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

A Baltimore City jury in a medical malpractice case awarded more than $670,000 to a man after his colon was perforated during a colonoscopy, resulting in emergency surgery. The man underwent a colonoscopy at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, during which the doctor punctured the colon in several places. The man was subsequently taken into an operating room at Sinai, where part of his colon was removed. The man still suffers pain and limited mobility as a result of the surgery, and swelling and fatigue caused by short bowel syndrome. A copy of the article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have often been asked to take colonoscopy perforation cases. Usually, if there is a single perforation and the perforation was recognized during or right after the colonoscopy, there is not a strong case. However, if there are multiple perforation or if there was a substantial delay in the diagnosis of the perforation, and either of those caused major problems or even death, it may be a case. Every case must be evaluated on an individual basis after the facts are reviewed. As I have mentioned before in other posts, these injuries frequently cause major complications because the bowel has so much bacteria in it. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.