Medical Malpractice

Anne Arundel County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claims 911 and Police Officers Botched Emergency Call

August 3, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A botched 911 call and the alleged failure by Anne Arundel County police to immediately help an unconscious woman at the scene of a medical emergency are two of the reasons cited in the Maryland wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Asha Clark. The 22-year-old mother of five died last summer.

According to the Anne Arundel County wrongful death complaint, on June 25, 2009, Clark’s boyfriend Maurice Brown called 911 because she was having a seizure. He says that he was placed on hold for three minutes. Clark fell unconscious. Police eventually arrived at the apartment building, but rather than tending to her immediately they first stopped to arrest someone in the hallway for allegedly dealing drugs.

Errors or negligence on the part of a 911 operator, paramedics, police officers, or fire fighters that arrive at the scene of a medical emergency can prove catastrophic. A 911 dispatcher neglecting to send emergency help right away or Maryland paramedic malpractice are just some reasons the entity that they work for might be sued for Maryland personal injury or wrongful death.

Baltimore Couple Files $20 Million Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Alleging Wrongful Birth

July 6, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Jessica Young and Antoine McLeod are accusing American Radiology Services, Dr. Karen Y. Perkins, and the Johns Hopkins Health System Corp. of Maryland medical malpractice. In their $20 million wrongful birth lawsuit, the Baltimore couple is claiming that a medical record mixup prevented them from receiving information about their baby’s birth defects that could have allowed them to decide whether they wanted to terminate the pregnancy.

Antonio Jesse McLeod was born prematurely last year with a number of birth defects, including a hole in his diaphragm. Also, his stomach was in his chest cavity.

According to the family’s medical malpractice complaint involving Maryland injuries to a minor, the abnormalities were visible in a sonogram performed by American Radiology Services months before the baby was born but that the radiology testing company sent the test results to the wrong doctor. Another Dr. Perkins and not the Dr. Perkins who was Young’s obstetrician received the results. Because of this mistake, Young’s Dr. Karen Y. Perkins never saw the sonogram and thought the baby was healthy and the couple were never notified that their child was going to be born with any serious birth defects.

Harford County Woman Awarded $3.5 Million Maryland Surgical Malpractice Verdict

May 22, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A jury has awarded Victoria Little a $3.5 million Harford County surgical malpractice verdict in her case against Vascular Surgery Associates and two surgeons. The 53-year-old woman claims that she was injured in 2007 when the doctors performed an improper grafting technique during her surgery to treat her blocked arteries.

According to Little’s Maryland medical malpractice lawyers, the doctors’ negligence and improper surgical technique caused her blood pressure to drop for a prolonged period of time, which deprived her organs and tissue of oxygen. She developed a spinal cord injury, lost 5,100 milliliters of blood, and is now a paraplegic. Little says that she still experiences constant pain.

The verdict awards Little $2 million for future medical costs, $1.3 million for noneconomic damages, and over $200,000 for past medical expenses. However, the state’s pain and suffering cap is $680,000.

Maryland Medical Malpractice?: Psychiatrist’s License Permanently Revoked for Alleged Inappropriate Contact with Boy Patients

May 19, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Maryland Board of Physicians is permanently revoking Miguel Frontera’s license to practice in the state. The decision comes after the state board found that the psychiatrist engaged in inappropriate contact with about a dozen pre-teen boys in his care. Baltimore County police say that they are conducting a criminal investigation into the allegations.

The board had initially suspended Frontera’s license last year for alleged improper behavior when conducting physical exams on five boys, ages 10 – 12, between 2000 and 2009. For example one boy, age 17, told a crisis interventionist at his high school that the psychiatrist molested him during several visits when he was 11 or 12. A police report was filed in 2006 over the incidents that allegedly took place in 2000 and 2001. In March 2009, the parent of a second boy filed a police report accusing Frontera of molesting the teenager during a physical exam when he was 10.

Both alleged victims had sought treatment from the psychiatrist for suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They claim that Frontera made them wear hospital gowns so he could look at their genitals. At the time the allegations were first made, police said that they were not considered to be at the criminal level.

However, Baltimore Police say that they reopened the investigation because of new information that they’ve received. Meantime, Frontera is maintaining that all of the allegations against him are false.

Psychiatric misconduct or his/her failure to provide a patient with a minimum standard level of care can be grounds for a Maryland psychiatric malpractice lawsuit. Examples of this type of medical malpractice:

• Wrong diagnosis
• Medication mistakes
• Breach of privacy
• False imprisonment
• Failure to provide the proper treatment
• Emotional abuse
• Mental abuse
• Sexual relationship with the patient
• Sex abuse
Towson psychiatrist loses license over improper contact with boys, The Baltimore Sun, May 18, 2010
Towson psychiatrist’s license suspension upheld, Towson Times, November 20, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Maryland Board of Physicians

Psychiatric Malpractice: Basic Issues in Evolving Contexts, Psychiatric Times

$1.44 Million Baltimore County Medical Malpractice Verdict Over Man Who Died From Sepsis at a Towson Hospital

April 13, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Maryland jury has awarded the family of Thomas Murphy $1.44 million for his Baltimore County wrongful death. Murphy died of sepsis on June 11, 2007, one day after he was admitted to St. Joseph Medical Center.

Murphy’s family is alleging Maryland medical malpractice. They claim that the 59-year-old did not receive the proper medical care.

According to ABC-2.com, despite having Murphy undergo several tests, including a CAT scan and an X-ray, doctors did not diagnose him as suffering from sepsis. Instead, Dr. Richard Murphy, one of the defendants, thought the patient was suffering from an infection and prescribed a broad-spectrum antibiotic before admitting him to the hospital.

Baltimore City Jury Awards Brooke Greenberg $250,000 for Maryland Personal Injuries in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Against Johns Hopkins Hospital

February 16, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Maryland jury has awarded Brooke Greenberg $250,000 for Baltimore medical malpractice injuries she sustained while at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center after she underwent a medical procedure to replace her feeding tube in 2007. The Reisterstown teenager is known internationally for never aging past infancy, despite the fact that she is 17-years-old.

After she was discharged from the hospital, her home nurse and parents noticed that there were bruises on her legs and arms. Her parents sued for Maryland medical malpractice involving injuries to a minor on her behalf.

Last week, a Baltimore city jury found the famous hospital in breach of the standard of care when Greenberg was inappropriately restrained after the surgery. They awarded her damages for the emotional trauma and physical pain she suffered.

Rep John Murtha Dies Surgical Complications After Doctors “Hit His Intestines”

February 9, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

What should have been a routine laparoscopic surgery has proved fatal for Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania. The 77-year-old died from complications when doctors “hit his intestines” during the minimally invasive gallbladder procedure at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. His intestine was damaged and an infection developed.

Murtha has been the Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District Representative since 1974 and was number eight in the chamber in terms of seniority. He was the first Vietnam War veteran elected to the US Congress. In 2005, he shocked Washington when he called for the US to withdraw from Iraq.

Murtha leaves behind his wife and three children.

Maryland Surgical Malpractice

If doctors made a medical mistake that caused Murtha’s health complications, the congressman’s family may have grounds for filing a Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and the medical professionals involved in the gallbladder surgery.

Laparascopic gallbladder surgery

Laparascopic gallbladder surgery involves the removal of the gallbladder without having to open the abdominal cavity. During this minimally invasive procedure, a small incision is made and a trocar is inserted. A video camera and small surgical tools are inserted using the trocar so the surgery can be conducted. Surgeons can watch the surgery on a monitor that airs what the video camera inside the body is recording.

It is important that a surgeon cut or clip in the right places in order to safely remove the gallbladder. Cutting the wrong anatomical part can cause serious injury or death. Other serious side effects include bile peritonitis, bile leakage, abscess, cholangitis, and infection.

Surgeons can be held liable for Maryland surgical malpractice if their medical mistake, carelessness, or recklessness causes personal injury or wrongful death to a patient.

Congressman: Murtha’s intestine damaged in surgery, Washington Post, February 8, 2010
Rep. John Murtha dies after surgery complications, CNN, February 8, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Laparascopic gallbladder surgery, FamilyDoctor.org
Medical Malpractice, Justia

Maryland Medical Malpractice?: 369 Patients May Have Received Unnecessary Stents

January 18, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Following an internal review, a Towson hospital has notified 369 patients that stents may have been unnecessarily implanted in their arteries. St. Joseph Medical Center conducted the probe after a number of patients complained and at the request of federal investigators. The hospital is under investigation for health-care fraud.

According to the Baltimore Sun, there were patients at St. Joseph who underwent the procedure even though the blockage in their arteries was minor. For example, one man who received a stent only had 10% blockage, but the hospital told him that the blockage was 95%. Another woman was wrongly diagnosed with a heart condition and received a stent because she was told her arteries had a 90% blockage. In fact, the blockage was no more than 10%.

Cardiac Catheterization

Coronary stents are used to open up clogged arteries or create a bridge where there is damage. Stents are usually implanted during cardiac catheterization. During this medical procedure, the device can be implanted into the arteries through the leg and via the bloodstream. Cardiac catheterization can be costly, and many insurers, as well as Medicare, require that an artery must have at least 70% blockage before a stent can be inserted. Although generally a safe procedure, serious health complications, such as infection, bleeding, blood vessel damage, allergic reaction, blood clots, heart attack, stroke, arrhythmias, low blood pressure, and kidney damage, can occur.

If you were wrongly diagnosed with an illness or health condition, were advised to undergo a medical procedure you did not need, were given the wrong medication, or if a medical mistake occurred during treatment, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit against those responsible.

Undergoing any type of medical procedure can take a physical and emotional toll on a patient. There is no reason to undergo an unnecessary procedures that can place your life at risk, take an emotional and physical toll on you, and require time off for recovery.

Md. heart patients may not have needed stents, Washington Post/AP, January 15, 2010
Patients learn they might have unneeded stents, Baltimore Sun, January 15, 2010
What Are the Risks of Cardiac Catheterization?, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
Related Web Resources:

St. Joseph Medical Center

Cardiac Catheterization, American Heart Association

Psychiatrist Accused of Sexual Misconduct Has Settled Maryland Injury Lawsuits from Alleged Victims

December 5, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Psychiatrist Nelson H. Hendler is defending himself in a case brought by a former patient who says that he sexually abused her. This is not the first accusation against the once prominent physician, who lost his license to practice medicine in February 2006 after the Maryland Board of Physicians determined that he committed sexual misconduct against several patients and gave out medication even though he didn’t have the proper permit.

The woman who brought this case claims that Hendler acted with her the way he did with his other patient victims. He allegedly convinced a number of patients that he was the only person who could help them and then took sexual advantage of them. Hendler is also accused of giving medication to women, even those who didn’t have prescriptions for the drugs, in exchange for sexual favors. Hendler has already settled a number of Maryland injury lawsuits against him from some of the women that are alleging medical malpractice and sexual abuse.

In 2007, Hendler submitted an Alford plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute drugs. The psychiatrist acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him but did not plead guilty. He received a probation sentence before judgment, which caused a conviction to be staved off.

Baltimore Man Files Maryland Emergency Room Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Over Botched Penis Diagnosis

October 27, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Robert Williams, 43, is suing Franklin Square Hospital Center’s emergency room for Maryland medical malpractice. Williams, who is a diabetic with a history of abscess infections and diabetes, had to undergo emergency surgery to remove necrotic tissue from his scrotum and penis. In his Baltimore County medical malpractice lawsuit, Williams claims the procedure could have been avoided if ER workers had checked his medical history, performed the right exam, provided the correct antibiotic therapy, and admitted him to the hospital when he arrived at the emergency room in February 2007.

At the time, Williams was in pain because the left side of his scrotum was swollen. His doctor told him to go to the ER.

At Franklin Square Hospital Center, medical workers diagnosed him as suffering from testicular pain. They gave him medication, triaged him, and sent him home.