Medical Malpractice

Retired Army Nurse Sued For Medical Malpractice Over Allegedly Spreading Hepatitis

April 3, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Retired Army captain Jon Dale Jones is being sued for personal injury by several people who claim that he infected them with hepatitis. He was arrested in March on federal charges of assault and possession of a controlled substance by fraud.

Staff Sgt. Ivan James Westrick and at least seven others are suing Jones and the nursing agency that employed him when he was working at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, where the infection was spread.

At least 7 other military service members or their family members say that they were infected with the disease because of Jones. According to federal prosecutors, Jones spread the disease in 2004 when he diverted fentanyl, often used as anesthesia, from patients to himself during surgeries at the El Paso, Texas military hospital.

Victims include an active-duty soldier, a retired Army chief warrant officer, a former Fort Bliss commanding general, and the wife of a retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant.

Jones has pled not guilty to the charges and denies using dirty needles during the procedures.

The plaintiffs say that having Hepatitis C has forced them to undergo lengthy and aggressive medical procedures.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease that is caused by the Hepatitis virus that can be transmitted via blood transfusions. According to court records, Jones tested positive for Hepatitis C following the outbreak. After the outbreak, Jones was taken off the surgery unit but continued working as a nurse at the Texas hospital and later at other hospitals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not link Jones to the outbreak until after he stopped working at the El Paso hospital. He was arrested in Florida, where he had opened up his own business, Jones Anesthesia, LLC.

In Washington D.C. and Maryland, our medical malpractice law firm handles cases where patients have been injured because of the medical negligence or recklessness of a doctor, a nurse, a hospital, or another medical provider. We also handle claims and lawsuits against VA (veterans administrative) hospitals and other military facilities for military medical malpractice.

15 Hepatitis Infections Tied to Ex-Nurse, AP, March 21, 2008
Military Medical Malpractice Overview, Justia

Related Web Resources:

Riverside patient tests positive for hepatitis C, DailyPress.com, April 3, 2008
Viral Hepatitis C, CDC.gov
Hepatitis C, MayoClinic.com

Two Doctors Cleared In Heath Ledger Prescription Overdose Death

March 6, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Drug Enforcement Administration says that two doctors who gave movie star Heath Ledger prescription drugs have been cleared of any wrongdoing related to the movie star’s death.

Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment of a prescription medicine overdose on January 22. An autopsy concluded that Ledger died from ingesting a combination of Vicodin, Oxycodone, tazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine.

According to the medical examiner’s office, the drugs were not supposed to be taken together and doing so impaired Ledger’s ability to breathe properly. The actor fell asleep and never woke up.

Both doctors were ruled out as the sources of Vicodin and OxyContin that were found with the actor on the day of his death.

In 2006, the Institute of Medicine issued a report stating that at least 1.5 million Americans are injured or killed because a medication mistake had been made in dispensing, prescribing, or taking a prescription drug.

The report says that mistakes are so common that a person staying at a hospital is subject to one medication error a day.

Common medication errors include:

• Writing prescriptions that can be dangerous when taken in combination with other drugs.
• Giving a patient the wrong medication.

• Giving the patient the correct drug but the wrong dosage amount.

Our Maryland and Washington D.C. personal injury law firm represents clients that have been seriously injured because of a prescription or pharmacy error. Our prescription error lawyers can determine whether you have grounds to file a case.

Federal Agents Rule Out Doctors in Heath Ledger’s Death, FoxNews.com, February 29, 2008
Medication Errors Harming Millions, Report Says, Washington Post, July 21, 2006

Related Web Resources:

Actor Heath Ledger dies at 28, CNN.com, January 22, 2008

Drug Enforcement Administration

John Ritter’s Family Takes $67 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit to Court

February 5, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Jury selection in the wrongful death of actor John Ritter began in Los Angeles County Superior Court today. Ritter died at age 54 in September 2003 after he was treated in a Burbank emergency room for a heart attack when he actually had an aortic dissection. His family claims that the TV star would have lived longer if only he had undergone the correct procedure; they say that the treatment he received for a heart attack was the “exact opposite” kind of care that he needed.

Plaintiffs in the wrongful death lawsuit are Ritter’s wife, actress Amy Yasbeck, and his four children. They are suing two doctors for $67 million—the high sum is based in part on what Ritter, a successful television star, would have earned had he survived.

At the time of his death, Ritter was the star of the hit television show “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.” He also worked in movies and other television projects.

The two doctors named as defendants in the wrongful death lawsuit are cardiologist Joseph Lee and radiologist Matthew Lotysch. They are being sued for negligence and their alleged failure to properly diagnose and care for Ritter.

Lotysch is the doctor who performed a body scan on the actor in 2001. Lotysch detected nothing wrong with Ritter’s aorta, but referred him to a cardiologist because he noticed calcifications in the actor’s coronary arteries. Ritter did not see a cardiologist after his visit with Lotysch.

In 2003, Ritter was rushed from the set of his TV show to the emergency room of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. He complained that he was experiencing chest pain, nausea, and vomiting.

A chest x-ray that was ordered was never conducted for some unknown reason. Lee is the doctor who treated him for the heart attack. The aortic dissection was not identified until right before the actor died.

An aortic dissection is a tear in the aorta that can imitate a heart attack.

Yasbeck and Ritter’s kids have already received about $14 million in settlements from nine medical entities, including Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, which settled with Ritter’s family for $9.4 million.

If you were seriously injured or someone you love died because a doctor made a medical error, failed to diagnose your illness, or provided you with the wrong type of medical care, you should speak with our Maryland or Washington D.C. medical malpractice law firm immediately.

John Ritter’s diagnosis at center of $67M lawsuit, CNN.com, February 5, 2008
Ritter’s family says he didn’t have to die, Los Angeles Times, January 24, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Settlement Reached in John Ritter Wrongful Death Lawsuit, 6abc.com, March 16, 2006
John Ritter, IMDB.com

Maryland Family Files Medical Malpractice Complaint In Woman’s Blood Clot-Related Death

January 17, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Maryland, the surviving family members of Nicole Letrice Smith,22, filed a medical malpractice complaint saying that the improper medical care that Smith received at Union Memorial Hospital following a 2006 car accident was the cause of her death. The complaint was filed with the state’s Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office and the family plans to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Smith was injured in a car accident when a Johns Hopkins pathologist driving the wrong way on the freeway hit her car. The family claims that improper treatment resulted in her death when a blood clot traveled from her broken leg to her lungs.

The claim says that her doctors should have notified Smith, who was obese, taking birth control pills at the time, and immobile because of her broken leg, that she was at risk for blood clots.

Named as defendants in the complaint are Union Memorial Hospital, Yuhwan Hong, and Lew Schon. Schon treated Smith when she was admitted to the hospital on July 8, 2006 and Hong treated her later before discharging her from the hospital. Three days after her release, Smith had a heart attack and died.

The driver of the motor vehicle that smashed into Smith’s car, Dr. Todd B. Sheridan, pleaded guilty to DUI and automobile manslaughter. He will be sentenced in April.

It is up to your doctor to warn you of any potential side effects that can result from your treatment or care. If failure to do so results in injury or death, you should talk to a medical malpractice attorney about filing a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit.

In order to receive medical malpractice compensation, you must file your claim or lawsuit before the statute of limitations ends. In Maryland, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice action is five years from the time the incident occurred or three years from when medical malpractice as the cause of injury or death is discovered. The statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims and lawsuits in Washington D.C. is three years.

If you or someone you love is the victim of medical malpractice in Washington D.C. or Maryland, you should contact a medical malpractice law firm immediately.

Family files malpractice complaint against hospital, Baltimore Sun, January 17, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Medical Malpractice Overview, Wrong Diagnosis, January 17, 2008
Medical Malpractice, Statute of Limitations

Multiple Failures by Cedars-Sinai Led to Heparin Overdose of Dennis Quaid’s Twins, Says State Probe

January 10, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Movie star Dennis Quaid says that Cedars Sinai Medical Center was not forthcoming about its role in the accidental Heparin overdose of his newborn twins.

. Quaid’s allegations follows the California Department of Public Health’s release of a 20-page report regarding the medical center’s handling of pediatric patients.

In the report, state inspectors accused Cedars-Sinai of multiple failures in the incident, including its failure to follow set rules and procedures when administering medication. California inspectors found that the center’s unsafe medication practices put all of its patients at risk of injury or death.

Other errors cited in the report included the failure by Cedars-Sinai pharmacy technicians and nurses to check product labels before dispensing Heparin and not keeping up-to-date and thorough records of when the drug was administered. Cedars-Sinai has 10 days to respond to the report.

Quaid’s son and daughter were administered overdoses of Heparin, a blood thinner, because they were given the wrong doses. The vial of Heparin that each twin was administered had 10,000 united per millimeter of the medication—the dosage used for adults—rather than the 10 units prescribed for infants.

Now, however, new information reveals that the twins were overdosed a second time within an eight hour period.The twins had to be treated with protamine to reverse Heparin’s effects.

Quaid and his wife Kimberly have already filed a products liability lawsuit against Baxter Healthcare, the drug maker of Heparin. The lawsuit claims that the similar packaging of the different doses makes it easy for hospital workers to mix one dose with the other.

If you or your child was injured at a Maryland or Washington D.C. hospital because of a prescription overdose caused by the negligence of a doctor, nurse, medical technician, or any other health care provider you should contact a medical malpractice law firm immediately.

State cites safety drug lapses at Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles Times, January 10, 2007
Drug mix-up outrageous, says Quaid, The Press Association, January 10, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Heparin Injection, MedlinePlus

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Maryland Court Rules on Cancer Patient’s Wrongful Death, Saying There Was No Negligence in Missed Cancer Diagnosis

January 3, 2008 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A divided Maryland Court of Special Appeals says there is insufficient evidence to show that medical malpractice caused the death of Sherri Schaefer, who died of uterine cancer in 2005. She was diagnosed with the disease in 2001.

Schaefer’s husband, Charles Marcantonio, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Melissa Moen, a gynecologist at Women’s OB/GYN in Parole, Maryland.

In his lawsuit, Marcantonio claimed that Moen and Anne Arundel Diagnostics Inc.’s Dr. Paula Decandido did not conduct enough tests when his wife was first diagnosed with the disease.

Schaefer first went to the hospital in 2002 because she was experiencing heavy vaginal bleeding. Dr. Moen attributed the bleeding to hormone-replacement therapy. The bleeding continued for seven months. Following a biopsy, the ovarian cancer was discovered.

Marcantonio claims that Moen and Decandido missed a 1.5 cm. ovarian mass on the sonogram. Decandido is the one who interpreted the sonogram. Because of this, Schaefer’s diagnosis was delayed. Marcantonio says his wife’s chances of survival went down to 50-60 % from 80%.

Maryland’s second highest court, however, disagreed, and said that the plaintiff was unable to prove that any of the defendants acted negligently—resulting in Schaefer’s death.

According to Judge James P. Salmon of the Court of Special Appeals, “The major issue to be decided is whether proof that a health care provider was responsible for a twenty- to thirty-percent reduction in the decedent’s chance of survival is sufficient to prove that the malpractice caused the death. We shall hold that it is not.”

Medical malpractice and wrongful death cases can be challenging to prove. This is why it is so important that you hire a Maryland or Washington D.C. personal injury attorney to take on your case.

Losing someone you love is hard enough without having the cause of death be the carelessness or negligence of a physician. A wrongful death lawyer can file a lawsuit on your behalf to hold the negligent party or parties financially responsible.

Missed cancer diagnosis not negligence, The Daily Record, December 31, 2007
Wrongful death case hinged on mass allegedly missed in sonogram, Capital Online, December 28, 2007

Related Web Resource:

Liberia RPCV Sherri Schaefer dies in Annapolis, PeaceCorps, May 23, 2005

Family of Slain New York Times Reporter David Rosenbaum Settles Medical Malpractice Lawsuit with Howard University Hospital in Washington D.C.

December 21, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Washington D.C., Howard University Hospital and Daniel and Dorothy Rosenbaum, the adult children of deceased New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum, have reached a settlement in the medical malpractice and negligence lawsuit filed against D.C. emergency workers and the hospital.

The 63-year-old reporter, who had just retired after 30 years of working for the Times, was seriously injured during a street robbery in Northwest Washington D.C. on January 26, 2006. Rosenbaum’s son and daughter filed their medical malpractice and negligence lawsuit a year ago last November after the D.C. inspector general’s office found that paramedics, firefighters, police, and hospital personnel failed to treat Rosenbaum.

Emergency workers found Rosenbaum on the sidewalk in a barely conscious state. The report, however, says that they did not realize he was seriously injured. They thought he was drunk. The ambulance he was riding in took Rosenbaum to Howard University Hospital, instead of a hospital located closer to the crime scene, because one of the workers had personal business in that area.

Rosenbaum was placed on a gurney at the hospital where he was left unattended. A doctor did not examine him for over 90 minutes. He was finally given a neurological exam nearly four hours after he arrived at the hospital. He died two days later.

Rosenbaum’s children were also upset that police did not follow up on a lead related to a beating crime that occurred several weeks before their father was assaulted. One of the men convicted of attacking Rosenbaum was also the attacker in the earlier assault.

Rosenbaum’s children say the failures to act by emergency workers, police, and the hospital were partially responsible for their father’s death. Rosenbaum’s children reached a settlement with the District in March. They agreed to forgo financial compensation as long as the city revised the way its emergency medical response system works. The details of the agreement with Howard University Hospital remain confidential.

If someone you love died because of the negligence of a hospital, police, emergency workers, a nursing home staff, or anyone else, you should contact a Maryland or Washington D.C. personal injury lawyer right away.

Hospitals are supposed to administer patients with a reasonable standard of care. Failure to do so is medical malpractice and grounds for a claim or lawsuit.

Rosenbaum Lawsuit Settled, Washington Post, December 21, 2007
Family of slain New York Times reporter settles medical malpractice lawsuit with D.C. hospital, IHT.com/AP, December 21, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Slain Journalist’s Family Files $20 Million Lawsuit, Washington Post, November 21, 2006

Howard University Hospital in Washington D.C.

Woman Infected with HIV from Organ Transplant Did Not Know Donor Was High-Risk

December 4, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A woman infected with HIV and hepatitis from the kidney she received from a donor says she was not notified that her donor was high-risk. She also says that she previously turned down another donor due to his “lifestyle.”

Her attorney in Illinois asked the Cook County Circuit Court to prevent the organ procurement center and the hospital where she received her transplant from modifying or destroying any records related to her case. He claims that both the University of Chicago and the Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network were aware that the kidney belonged to a patient who was at high-risk of getting HIV.

The CDC’s guidelines mandates that gay men who are sexually active should not be allowed to donate their organs unless the patient is in danger of dying immediately.

Officials at the University of Chicago claim that they followed the proper guidelines when arranging for the transplant. The woman’s attorney, however, claims that guidelines were not followed when the woman was not notified of the patient’s status and she wasn’t tested for HIV immediately after the transplant. She was also told that her donor was a healthy male.

The woman received a new kidney in January. She was diagnosed with HIV and hepatitis on November 1. Her HIV medical treatment is negatively affecting her kidneys.

Gift of Hope was also involved in the donor process of the four other patients who were diagnosed with HIV following their transplants. All four of them received their transplants from a donor who died following a traumatic brain injury. An initial HIV test on the donor had come back with a negative result.

Over 300,000 people receive transplants in the United States every year.

If you or someone you love has became injured or ill because of a medical error, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit against the hospital, doctor, surgeon, medical center, or anyone else who can be held liable for causing your injuries or sickness.

Failure to follow proper procedures, failure to obtain informed consent, performing the wrong surgery, mistakes during surgery, failure to diagnose, or providing a patient with the wrong treatment are some of the many errors that can result in a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit.

Chances of infection low, organ donation official says, The Jeffersonian.com, November 27, 2007
Lawyer: Woman who got HIV wasn’t told organ donor was risk, USA Today, November 16, 2007
Four Transplant Recipients Contract HIV, Hepatitis C From High-Risk Organ Donor, The Body Pro, November 14, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network

The Living Legacy Foundation, MDTransplant.org

Kanye West’s Mother Dies After Plastic Surgery

November 13, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Donda West, the mother of record producer and rapper Kanye West, died on Saturday night at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Marina del Ray, California due to what may have been surgical complications.

Donda West, 58, had just undergone plastic surgery performed by Beverly Hills Dr. Jan Adams. Adams says he performed breast reduction surgery and a tummy tuck on West. He claims, however, that he didn’t do anything wrong and that her death could have been a result of other medical issues. He thinks that she died because of massive vomiting, a heart attack, or a pulmonary embolism.

Autopsy results are expected this week. Preliminary information, however, indicate that Donda West could have died from “complications of surgery.”

Another Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, Dr. Andre Aboolian, says that Kanye West’s mother spoke with him months ago about having plastic surgery. He refused to perform the procedure because she had a pre-existing condition that could cause her to have a heard attack if she underwent surgery. He told her that she needed to get medical clearance before he would perform the surgery. He never heard back from her.

If you suspect that you were injured or someone you love has died because of any kind of medical malpractice——including plastic surgery malpractice—you should speak with a medical malpractice lawyer immediately.

Common kinds of cosmetic surgeries include:

• Facial scar revision
• Plastic surgery
• Hair replacement
• Mentoplasty
• Rhinoplasty
• Breast implants
• Face lifts
• Otoplasty
• Tummy tucks
• Liposuction

Cosmetic surgery errors can lead to serious injuries or wrongful death. A person who is seriously injured because of plastic surgery may experience permanent scarring or disfigurement and suffer from emotional trauma, chronic pain, and psychological trauma. If physical appearance has a bearing on a patient’s career, he or she could experience loss of work.

A medical malpractice lawyer can assess your injuries and determine their cause and file a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit against the negligent plastic surgeon. If someone you love has died because of cosmetic surgery complications, you should speak with an experienced wrongful death lawyer who can file a claim or lawsuit for you.

Autopsy expected in death of Kanye West’s mother, CNN/AP,November 13, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Dr. Jan Adams

Cosmetic Surgery: Procedures at a Glance, American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Family of Boy Who Died from Staph Infection To File $25 Wrongful Death Million Lawsuit

November 2, 2007 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The family of a 12-year-old boy that died from a staph infection is going to sue the city of New York with a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit.

Omar Rivera’s mother, Aileen Rivera, says she will sue the city because doctors at Kings County Hospital Center misdiagnosed his illness. Omar Rivera died on October 14 at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center.

His mother had taken the 7th grader to the hospital because she wasn’t satisfied with the care that he was getting at a clinic, which belongs to New York City’s public hospital system.

She says that the doctor at Kings County Hospital Center misdiagnosed Omar’s illness—identifying it as an allergic reaction rather than an infection. Because of this misdiagnosis, no tests were ordered. Omar was given Benadryl for his skin lesions. Omar died of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a kind of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics, such as methicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin, and oxacillin.

Symptoms can include boils or pimples. MRSA can cause infections in different areas of the body. Although most cases of MRSA are not fatal, some cases can lead to death.

Wrong Diagnosis

Misdiagnosing a patient can be a serious problem—especially if the wrong diagnosis results in the patient sustaining injuries, becoming more ill, or dying. A wrong diagnosis can cause doctors to give a patient the wrong medication or treatment. A sick person may have to undergo more serious treatment or surgery if his/her condition worsens because the correct diagnosis wasn’t made in time. A person’s chances of survival could decrease with a misdiagnosis.

Mother Plans $25M Lawsuit After Son Dies From Staph Infection, Fox News, October 30, 2007
Family to sue for $25 million over boy’s staph death, CNN.com, October 30, 2007
Understanding MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus), WebMD

Related Web Resource:

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), CDC