In an excellent article today by Scott Graham, the Managing Editor / Health Care Reporter for the Baltimore Business Journal, Mr. Graham reported that St. Joseph continues to review Dr. Midei’s stent procedures between May 2007 and 2009 and expects more letters to be issued as the reviews progress. Interestingly, St. Joseph told Mr. Graham that the hospital has determined that only Dr. Midei was unnecessary implanting stents in people and that it was not a systemic problem involving other physicians. A copy of the article can be found here. Mr. Graham has written two other articles on the subject of the stents, which can be found here:

2/26/10 – Maryland Delegate Calls For Investigation Into St. Joseph Medical Center Stents Case.

3/5/10 – St. Joseph Overhauling How It Reviews Cases .

3/5/10 – Supporters Rally Around FormerSt. Joseph Stent Doctor Midei.

As I have said before, I believe this is only the tip of the iceberg. St. Joseph Medical Center already has found over 500 cases of unnecessary stents during only a two year time frame. When St. Joseph goes back several more years, I think the number of unnecessary stents will significantly exceed 1,000. In fact, I have a case from 2004 involving a mild blockage which Dr. Midei said was 80% blocked, so I know that Dr. Midei has been unnecessary stenting patients for triple the time-frame being looked at by St. Joe.

What is amazing to me is that people are supporting Dr. Midei. According to Mr. Graham’s articles, supporters have started a web site, www.markmidei.com and a Facebook fan page. While I am sure that Dr. Midei actually placed some stents that were medically necessary, this man unnecessary placed more than 500 people at risk for severe complications by placing stents they didn't need; forced them to unnecessary take blood thinners for life; worried people for years that they have severe heart disease; took money out of people’s pockets for the co-pays that they are required to expend not only for the stent procedure for the medication for life; defrauded private insurance companies; defrauded Medicare; defrauded Medical Assistance, among other things.

I could understand supporting Dr. Midei if made a mistake in a few of cases. After all, all of us are human. But to put unnecessary cardiac stents in hundreds if not thousands of people is despicable. This man deserves no support.

In any event, my firm still is not advertising for these cases on television or in the newspaper, but I see such ads daily. What bugs me is that I believe the lawyers soliciting these cases actually are doing a disservice to their existing clients. As the number of claims against Dr. Midei increase, there is a likelihood that there will not be enough malpractice insurance coverage to fairly compensate all of the claimants. The more lawyers advertise to the public for these cases, the more claims there will be and the less compensation there will be for existing claimants. I doubt the law firms advertising for these cases are telling that to their clients!!!

My name is Andrew Slutkin. As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving cardiac issues. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.

As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland lawyer / attorney who specializes in medical malpractice cases, I have handled a number of medical malpractice cases involving poor nursing home care. These cases require an extensive evaluation of the medical records involved and consultation with experts in nursing care. It is always said when the most vulnerable members of our society are mistreated.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.