Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Improper Injection Medical Malpractice

2010-06-30T21:28:41Z

A New York jury has awarded $1.7 million in damages to a woman in a medical malpractice case, to compensate her for permanent nerve damage that was caused by an improper injection given to her following the delivery of her baby. The woman was given an intramuscular injection several hours after delivery, while in the recovery room, to try to stop her vomiting. But the nurse improperly administered the injection too low, damaging the woman’s sciatic nerve. The woman now has lower back problems, difficulty sitting and standing for any significant period of time and limitations on her physical activities. The condition is expected to worsen. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.

This is an interesting case because of the severe and permanent damage that the improper injection caused. Usually, injections do not cause significant damage but when they do there may be a medical malpractice case if the damages are severe.

There are a number of guidelines on the proper administration of an injection. In this case, the guidelines clearly were not followed.

Failure to Diagnose Kidney Stone Infection Causing Death

2010-06-28T21:11:38Z

A South Carolina jury has awarded $3 million in a medical malpractice case to the family of a 25-year-old woman who died after medical treatment in 2002. The woman died from an infection due to a kidney stone. After the treatment at a local emergency room, the woman was discharged and due to check-up with a urologist the following Monday. However, before she could see the doctor, she died from an infection. The jury found that the emergency room and hospital did not meet the standard of care when they failed to take appropriate vital signs and perform basic testing, which would have resulted in proper diagnosis and treatment of the infection. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.

This sounds like a very good case. It is important for all health care providers to obtain baseline vital signs on a patient and perform reasonable tests that can diagnose serious problems that are likely. In this case, the doctors diagnosed a kidney stone but did not do the routine blood testing that would have revealed that the woman actually was very sick. Instead, she was sent home with the false assurance that she could wait a few days to be seen. It is tragic.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled many medical malpractice cases failure to timely perform appropriate medical tests that would have revealed a serious illness. It is always a shame when a simple and routine test is not performed, resulting in a serious injury or death.

Vascular Graft Malpractice

2010-06-28T21:06:49Z

A Harford County, Maryland jury has awarded a 53-year-old woman $3.5 million in a medical malpractice case against two surgeons Dr. Roger E. Schneider, chairman of Upper Chesapeake Health System, and his partner, Dr. Mark D. Gonze, and their business, Vascular Surgery Associates. The woman underwent surgery for blocked arteries in 2007, with a terrible outcome. The woman claimed that the doctors used an improper grafting technique, which led to blood loss and damage to the woman’s spinal cord, which left the woman paraplegic, in constant pain and unable to walk. The award consisted of $1.3 million for noneconomic damages (pain, suffering, etc.), $2 million for future medical bills, and more than $200,000 for her past bills. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.

This verdict is interesting because it occurred in Harford County. That county is well-known by plaintiffs' lawyers, defense lawyers and insurance companies to be a very conservative venue for trying cases. Whenever I go to a court ordered settlement conference for a medical mapractice case that I am handing in that county, the chief judge always reminds me that we are in Harford County and he claims that there hasn’t been a malpractice verdict in favor of a plaintiff for years. It seems he will have to admit that the tide has turned. The reality is that a good case is a good case regardless of where it is to be tried, as the case above indicates.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases in Harford County and elsewhere involving vascular surgery and paralysis. They are extremely complicated and require expertise that most general personal injury attorneys do not have. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Lawsuit Filed Against Dr. Mark Midei, Midatlantic Cardiovascular and St. Joseph Medical Center Regarding Unnecessary Cardiac Stent

2010-06-21T18:21:41Z

Attorneys Andrew G. Slutkin, Jamison G. White and the law firm of Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White have filed one of the first medical malpractice lawsuits against Dr. Mari Midei, Midatlantic Cardiovascular and St. Joseph Medical Center as a result of Dr. Midei unnecessary implanting a patient with a cardiac stent during cardiac catheterization. The lawsuit, which is sure to be followed by many others, makes claims for medical negligence; negligent hiring, retention and/or supervision; fraud; concealment; negligent misrepresentation; battery; intentional infliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium. A copy of the lawsuit can be viewed here

Medical Malpractice Involving Spinal Cord Injection

2010-06-16T22:56:20Z

A Florida jury has ordered a woman’s ex-doctor to pay $36.6 million in a medical malpractice case for failing to properly perform a steroid injection, causing damage to the woman's spinal cord. The woman now has a disfigured right arm and suffers from constant pain since the pain management doctor left her with a four-inch hole in her spinal cord. The woman had sought treatment from the doctor for a car accident. A copy of an article regarding the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled many medical malpractice cases involving spinal cord injuries. These injuries can be catastrophic, causing a life-time of pain, medical and other care expenses and lost income. Recently, I obtained a record settlement in the case of a woman who was paralyzed during spinal cord stimulator surgery. Now, I am representing a man who suffered a spinal cord injury during disk surgery, causing him to suffer paralysis. Malpractice causing a person to be paralyzed deserves to be compensated, due to the extreme nature of the injury.

Maryland Board of Physicians Complaint (attached) against Dr. Mark Midei charging malpractice

2010-06-14T21:41:54Z

As I mentioned in a recent blog post, administrative charges have been filed by the Maryland Board of Physicians against Dr. Mark Midei, the Towson cardiologist accused of medical malpractice for implanting unnecessary cardiac stents in more than five hundred people. A copy of an article detailing the charges can be found here.

I was unable to easily find online a copy of the Maryland Board of Physicians’ Complaint against Dr. Mark Midei charging document, so I obtained a copy from the Board. You can view the document by clicking here

Administrative Charges Filed Against Dr. Mark Midei

2010-06-12T03:28:16Z

Dr. Mark Midei, the cardiologist accused of implanting unnecessary cardiac stents in over five hundred people, has been administratively charged by the Maryland Board of Physicians, according to the charging document made public today. The charges include "gross overutilization of health care services" and "willfully making a false report or record in the practice of medicine.” A copy of an article detailing the charges can be found here.

The charges stem from an investigation by St. Joseph Medical Center, which began after a St. Joe employee claimed that Dr. Midei was fraudulently implanting patients with cardiac stents. St. Joe’s investigation, which examined only a two year time frame during which Dr. Midei performed 2000 stent procedures, found that approximately one in four cardiac stents that he emplaced (over 500 patients) were unnecessary.

In my opinion, the charges are certain to be sustained in this high-profile instance of medical malpractice. It is one thing for a patient or a patient’s lawyers to accuse a doctor of malpractice, but when Dr. Midei’s former employer and peers on the medical board accuse him of widespread malpractice, common sense dictates that it has merit.

In fact, I continue to believe that Dr. Midei will be criminally charged with Medicare fraud, Medicaid fraud and insurance fraud. I think it is only a matter of time.

What is amazing to me is that St. Joe still does not plan to go back and examine more than two years of Dr. Midei’s cases. If we were dealing with a business that does not owe a moral, ethical and professional duty to the public, I could understand it, as the further St. Joe goes back the more claims there will be filed against St. Joe. But St. Joe is not just a business; as a provider of health care it has an obligation to tell patients when one of its doctors committed malpractice. The Maryland Department of Health and Human Services should require St. Joe to go back as far as St. Joe records allow, so that everybody who did not need a stent is notified. If they found over five hundred cases of unnecessary implants over a two year period, that means that if they go back six years, there are probably another thousand people who currently believe they have severe heart disease (because Midei misled them) when they in fact do not. As I have said before, I have a stent case from 2004 involving a small blockage which Dr. Midei said was 80% blocked, so I know that he has been unnecessary placing stents in patients for triple the time-frame examined by St. Joe.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled many medical malpractice cases involving cardiac issues. Right now, I am representing about a dozen people with cases against Dr. Midei for unnecessary stents. I am handling these cases individually, not grouping them into a class action. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Failure to Rule Out Esophageal / Esophagus Perforation

2010-06-10T21:32:28Z

A Pennsylvania jury has awarded $1.2 million to the widow of a man in a medical malpractice suit against a hospital and two doctors. The man died in 1999, two days after he was sent home from an emergency room, complaining he had chest pains and had been vomiting for three days. An autopsy determined that he had an ulcerated esophagus and the cause of death was sepsis caused by the perforated esophagus, which allowed food to go into his pleural cavity. A copy of an 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 against emergency room doctors for failing to timely diagnose and treat life threatening conditions. The rule is “if there is any doubt, you can’t rule it out.” Here, a simple radiology test, such as an x-ray or esophageal sonogram would have showed what was going on with this man. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Medical malpractice causing cerebral palsy

2010-05-27T22:00:13Z

An Illinois hospital, a nurse midwife and the nurse's employer have agreed to a $9.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by family who alleged that they were responsible for causing their son to be born with cerebral palsy. The woman was admitted to the hospital in labor and the nurse failed to get a doctor when the woman requested one after she began experiencing complications. A copy of a brief article on the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a number of cerebral palsy and other birth injury medical malpractice cases. These cases are always tragic as they permanently affect the life of a child and his or her family. Often times, these tragedies can be prevented with proper care that meets the standard of care.

Altered Pathology Report

2010-05-19T21:40:34Z

A Maryland man has won an $800,600 verdict in a malpractice case against a California surgeon. The award included $300,000 in punitive damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The patient had a small skull based tumor that was threatening his hearing, and went to a doctor to remove the tumor. According to the lawsuit, the doctor removed something but it was not the tumor. The hospital’s pathology report supposedly showed that what was surgically removed was not a tumor. But instead of telling the patient, the lawsuit alleged that the doctor and/or others altered the report to hide from the patient the fact that the tumor actually was not removed. The patient subsequently lost his hearing and filed suit. A copy of an article on the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. attorney who handles many medical malpractice and other catastrophic injury cases, I have successfully handled many cases involving important medical records. Clients of mine frequently ask whether there is any way to tell whether medical records have been improperly altered. I always explain that there are ways, such as comparing them to other records, comparing them to records which have been sent to others, and forensic document examination. At times, I have had medical records evaluated by forensic document examiners who can tell, using ink dating analysis or examination under special lighting, that documents have been altered. Computer systems even keep track of alterations of computerized medical records systems. Usually, when I can prove that a medical record was improperly altered, the case settles. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Failure to Give Proper Antibiotic Causing Sepsis

2010-05-19T20:17:26Z

A Baltimore County jury has awarded $1.44 million to the family of a man who died a day after spending six hours in a St. Joseph Medical Center emergency home. The verdict was against an emergency room doctor who works at St. Joseph.

The family in the case claimed that the man’s death from septic shock would have been prevented if he had received a proper broad-spectrum antibiotic and fluid when he first went to the emergency room. Instead, he was given an antibiotic to treat pneumonia and not enough fluid. A copy of an article on the case can be found here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. attorney who handles many medical malpractice and other catastrophic injury cases, I have successfully handled many cases involving death due to sepsis. Many times, the death can be prevented with proper antibiotics, which are inexpensive to administer. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Cardiomyopathy Causing Death Of A Student Athlete

2010-05-19T19:23:14Z

A jury in Massachusetts has awarded a husband and wife $1.6 million in a malpractice case against a doctgor over the death of their son on a college basketball court. The young man, a Senior in college at Eastern Connecticut State University, collapsed during a game due to a congenital heart defect called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The family claimed that the doctor, who had examined the young man and found him eligible to play, missed the heart condition. A copy of an article on the case can be found here.

As an experienced Maryland and Washington, D.C. attorney who handles many medical malpractice and other catastrophic injury cases, I have successfully handled many death cases and even a number of cases involving hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This is a condition that can be easily diagnosed. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Negligent Leg Surgery Causing Paralysis

2010-05-19T19:20:04Z

A jury in Tennessee has awarded a couple from Texas more than $22 million in a medical malpractice case. The Plaintiff in the case was left paralyzed from the waist down after complications from surgery for a broken leg. A copy of the article can be found here.

Cases involving paralysis are extremely complicated and require an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. In addition to proving that the doctor or hospital did something wrong, the lawyer must be able to prove the nature and extent of future medical and other care, the cost of that care and the value of any lost wages or income.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled many cases involving paralysis due to medical malpractice. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Fall From Medical Malpractice

2010-03-16T21:53:47Z

The family of an 86-year-old Massachusetts woman has settled their medical malpractice case arising from the death of the woman after she fell from an operating table following hip surgery. The case settled for $800,000. The woman died seven days after she suffered a severe head injury during the negligent fall, as she was being prepared for transfer to her hospital bed. The fall caused severe internal bleeding and fractured her skull. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health investigated the case and concluded that the fall led to the woman’s death. It found deficiencies in procedure which led to the fall. A copy of the article can be found here.

My name is Andrew Slutkin. As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a significant number of medical malpractice / negligence cases involving falls that cause severe injury or even death. All of the cases involve people who are in a vulnerable position – such as being elderly or sick – and cannot take care of themselves. It’s always important to carefully examine the medical records to see what happened. But because these are the types of injuries where the injury is known to the health care providers at the time it happens, the medical records frequently make it seem like the heath care providers did everything correctly yet the fall somehow occurred. That is why witness and family accounts frequently help to determine what really happened. It also is important to check the health care provider’s policies and procedures to determine if rules and regulations were followed. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

Medical malpractice causing cerebral palsy

2010-03-16T21:31:46Z

A California judge has approved a $5.75 million settlement in favor of a 4-year-old boy with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia. The child got $1.75 million up front and another $4 million in future payments to help pay for his medical and assistive care as well as future lost earnings over the rest of his life. The boys’ parents also have been awarded $250,000 to waive any future wrongful death claims in the event their son’s death is caused by his condition.

The family alleged that the child suffered severe and permanent brain injury as a result of a lack of oxygen to his brain during his birth. Specifically, the family alleged that the boy's fetal monitor strip showed severe distress during labor but that the doctors ignored or didn't recognize or realize it. An article on the case can be found here.

My name is Andrew Slutkin. As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have successfully handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving birth injuries causing cerebral palsy. These cases are always tragedies as they involve a lifetime of challenges because of a medical mistake. Traditional medical insurance typically does not pay for the care these individuals need, so these cases help provide the necessary therapy and care. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.