In Maryland, Salisbury Cardiologist Dr. John McLean is being sued for medical malpractice. The 2-count lawsuit, filed by patients and their families, accuses McLean of performing stent placement and cardiac catheterization without proper cause. Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Peninsula Regional Health System Inc., and McLean’s practice, John R. McLean, MD & Associates.
The 24 plaintiffs include 13 patients throughout the Delmarva Peninsula, as well as the spouses or representatives of decedents’ estates. They are alleging negligence and seeking damages above the $30,000 jurisdictional limit for each count plus all legal costs. The personal injury attorneys for the plaintiffs say that McLean “dramatically overstated findings” from tests and persuaded his patients to undergo surgeries they did not require. They also say that there were less expensive procedures that could have been used. The lawsuit also accuses the technicians and nurses that assisted McLean during the surgeries of knowing about the malpractice but failing to report or stop the wrongdoing.
Last year, Peninsula Regional Medical Center, where McLean conducted the procedures, accused McLean of performing 25 unnecessary heart stent procedures. Some claimaints even underwent the procedure more than once.
Cardiac Catheterization
Cardiac catheterization involves the insertion of a thin plastic tube into the vein or artery. The tube can then be advanced into the heart. The test can measure blood pressure in the heart and oxygen in the blood.
Stent Placement
Stents can be inserted after cardiac surgery to keep blood vessels open. They can also be used to open arteries in certain areas of the body and to treat patients with liver disease or blocks in the esophagus.
Lawsuit filed in stent surgeries, Delmarvanow.com, July 21, 2008
Cardio Catheterization, American Heart
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