Medical Malpractice

Published on: November 9, 2012

Massachusetts Health Officials Crack Down After Meningitis Outbreak

After the deadly meningitis outbreak that has spanned several states, The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has closed another compounding pharmacy over sterility concerns. The surprise inspection of the Infusion Resource premises revealed “significant issues with the environment in which drugs were being mixed.” Infusion Resource primarily mixes sterile injectable drugs for recently-released hospital patients. While there have been no complaints at the facility since it opened in 2009, Dr. Madeleine Biodolillo of the state Department of Public Health revealed that the current manager at Infusion Resource was a former employee of “Ameridose which owned by the same people who ran New England Compounding Center,” which is the facility that has been primarily responsible for the meningitis outbreak.

Dr. Biodolillo has not revealed what drugs or issues led to the closure of the facility, but she did reveal that the primary concern was sterility. After the inspected, the company voluntarily gave it up pharmacy license and Infusion Resource has agreed to contact forty patients and their doctors to request that they return unused medication. The company facility also had an area to “administer intravenous drugs, which it was not licensed to do.” Infusion Resource’s CEO stated the company will take immediate action to comply with the issues noted in the inspection. “No issues were cited relating to the integrity of our products nor to the quality of our compounding practices,” he said in a statement.

The inspection came weeks after a nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis killed over twenty people and sickened more than 300. The tainted steroid has been linked to the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts and has forced public health officials in the state to crack down on several health facilities. Dr. Lauren Smith, interim commissioner of the state Department of Public Heath stated that the five new inspectors will be added to the department to review all the compounding pharmacies by the end of the year. Prior to outbreak, compounding pharmacies were only inspected when they opened or moved or if the department received substantive complaints. She also said the state is taking steps to tighten reporting requirements for compounding pharmacies.

Mass. shuts down another compounding pharmacy, www.miamiherald.com November 09, 2012.

Published on: November 1, 2012

Mother and Paralyzed Son To Hold Spinal Cord Injury Fundraiser

by Friedland | Carmona

Tomorrow evening, Anthony Purcell and his mother, Micki, who have co-founding the non-profit Walking With Anthony, are hosting a fund raiser for spinal cord victims. Anthony, 24, became paralyzed in February 2010 while vacating in Florida with his family. Anthony dove into the water off South Beach and crashed head first into a sandbar. He spent six weeks at Jackson Memorial and suffered paralysis, a broken neck and two bruised vertebrae. He spent most of the six weeks in a medically induced coma and survived seventeen lung collapses.

As soon as he was able to, Anthony became his rehabilitation treatment, which he believes has made all of the difference. When he first started rehab, Anthony couldn’t even move himself into a sitting position, but is now able to stand with help of a walker and can bench press almost 200 pounds. Anthony and his mother created the foundation to help others receive the same time of rehabilitative services Anthony benefitted from. The Purcells created their foundation when they realized that despite the extensive amount of money donated to spinal cord research, there was little money available for patients in need of rehabilitative services. So far, the foundation has raised around $250,000 and has helped three others with spinal cord injuries.

The benefit, South Florida Movement for Change will present grants to Nick Williams and Chris Hickox, who attended the same high school as Anthony. Williams was left paralyzed from the waist down when injured in a car accident and Hickox suffered a spinal cord injury after an ATV accident. The grant will allow the men to receive treatment at the same facility as Anthony, the Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center. Dr. Allan Levi of Jackson Memorial Hospital, Anthony’s surgeon will be honored at the banquet. Kevin Everett, who suffered a spinal cord injury while playing for the Buffalo Bills, and his wife are honorary chairs of the event.

Mother, son hosting fundraiser for spinal cord injury victims, www.miamiherald.com October 31, 2012.

Published on: October 19, 2012

Defective Medication Leads To Meningitis Outbreak; 3 Dead In Florida

by Friedland | Carmona

A tainted steroid medication has led to at least three deaths in Florida and almost twenty across the nation. Dr. John Armstrong, Florida’s Surgeon General and Secretary of Health, said that the tainted steroid has led to the onset of meningitis symptoms in at least thirteen Floridians. Over 240 people across the nation have contracted meningitis from the contaminated medication.

The medication, which was to be used for back pain, originated in the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. Federal health officials are still trying to determine how the medication was contaminated. Officials are also trying to determine if any other medications from the facility have been contaminated.

Over 260 health care facilities in Florida have received the contaminated medication. State officials are urging doctors and heath care centers to contact any patients who may have been treated with the medication, particularly patients who were treated for eye or heart surgery, since January. Armstrong did note that the only medication “implicated in infection is the steroid used for epidural back injections.” At least one lawsuit has been filed against a health center that administered the contaminated medication.

3rd person dies from Fla. meningitis outbreak, www.miamiherald.com October 17, 2012.

Published on: September 5, 2012

Jury Awards $7.8 Million After Doctors Fail To Diagnose Flesh-Eating Bacteria

by Friedland | Carmona

Imagine taking your child to the emergency room to treat a cut and leaving days later with your child suffering from brain damage. One family’s nightmare came true when they took their twelve-year-old son, Jonathan, to Dyersburg Regional Medical Center to treat a cut he received when he fell on an exposed nail head while playing laser tag at Upon This Rock Amusement. Dr. Joseph Flagge and Alan Hopkins, ARNP, treated him for the cut at Dyersburg Regional. He was discharged the same day, but returned two days later with extreme pain and redness and swelling that was “steadily moving up his leg.” Dr. Randy Isaacs treated him, but did not diagnose Jonathan with any other illness. Three days later, another doctor treated Jonathan, diagnosed him with a significant infection of flesh-eating bacteria (necrotizing fasciitis) and sent him to Lebonheur Children’s Hospital. The complaint, filed by Jonathan’s parents, alleges that he “suffer[ed] severe physical injuries from the hospitals’ negligence with most of the flesh from his knee to his groin decomposing, requiring extensive tissue removal and skin grafts, but he also suffered severe brain injuries.” As a result of his injuries, Jonathan fell into a coma and suffered a series of seizures that caused permanent brain damage.

Jonathan’s parents filed suit against Dyersburg Regional Medical Center; David Criswell, owner of Upon This Rock Amusement in Dyersburg; Dr. Joseph Flagge, and Alan Hopkins, ARNP. Their complaint alleges that the Dr. Flagge and Hopkins improperly treated their son and “failed to take proper precautions to avoid infection, including the failure to administer necessary and appropriate antibiotics and other medicines.” Their complaint continues to state that Dr. Isaacs failed to diagnose the flesh-eating bacteria that caused Jonathan’s symptoms.

The trial has been a long process for Jonathan and his parents. The accident occurred in 2004, and went to a civil trial in 2007 but the judge declared a mistrial. The case was heard again recently and after a 15-day trial, a jury awarded the family $7.8 million for Jonathan’s injuries. Prior to trial, Dr. Flagge and Hopkins settled with the family for an undisclosed amount. Halfway through the trial, the hospital also settled for an undisclosed amount. The jury allotted the fault as follows: David Criswell was 13% responsible, Dr. Joseph Flagge and Alan Hopkins were each 20% liable and the Medical Center was 47% responsible. The jury ultimately determined that Jonathan should receive $7,816,740 in damages, but the court has sealed the final settlement amounts.

Jury awards $7.8M in hospital negligence suit, www.miamiherald.com August 31, 2012.

Published on: September 4, 2012

Colorado Jury Awards Record $15 Million For Doctor’s Misdiagnosis

by Friedland | Carmona

A Colorado jury awarded $15 million to Jason Walters, a thirty-six year old man who became paralyzed within hours of being discharged from Memorial Hospital. Walters sued Memorial Hospital, Memorial Health System and a local doctor after he was mistreated at Memorial Hospital. Walters went to the hospital complaining of neck pain and numbness is his arms and legs. He was diagnosed with neck strain and discharged. In reality, he was suffering from “a herniated disk that was compressing his spinal cord and causing progressive neurologic injury.” Within hours of leaving the hospital, he was completely paralyzed.

The award, which is the highest award in Colorado’s history of both federal and district cases, gives Walters a “sense of closure” but does not give him the ability to walk again, according to his attorney. In giving Walters such an award, the jury determined that “there were avoidable medical errors that caused Mr. Walters’ paralysis.” The verdict listed both Memorial Health System and the emergency room physician as at-fault parties. Memorial Hospital had settled with Walters prior to the commencement of the trial.

While the doctor’s malpractice insurance will pay the physician’s share of the verdict, Walters will only receive $300,000 of the $10 million portion for pain, suffering, impairment and disfigurement, as the amount is limited by Colorado Law.

Colorado jury awards record $15M in medical malpractice case , www.bizjournal.com August 1, 2012.

Published on: August 10, 2012

Delray Medical Center Facing Two Medical Malpractice Suits

by Friedland | Carmona

Lazaro Rodriquez went to Delray Medical Center complaining of chest pain. Less than three days later, he died of a heart attack. His wife attempted CPR and called 911, but to no avail. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Rodriquez’s wife, Joanne has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Delray Medical Center, alleging that doctors misread test results, improperly treated him and then released him on January 12, 2011. The ER doctor concluded that Rodriguez had suffered a heart attack. Two specialists were assigned to his case after the diagnosis: radiologist Fernando Rivera and cardiologist Rodolfo Carrillo-Jimenez. The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Rivera misread the results of a coronary CTA, a test that identifies heart problems. Dr. Rivera concluded the CTA was normal, when the result was actually abnormal. Dr. Carrillo-Jimenez reportedly stopped Rodriguez’s heart medication and prematurely released him from the hospital. According to the lawsuit, Rodriguez was sent home with only aspirin and ibuprofen, even though he had elevated levels of troponin, indicating he suffered heart trauma.

Rodriguez went into cardiac arrest at home less than three days later. He died in the morning hours of January 15, 2011. His wife is seeking damages of $50,000. Rodriquez left behind ten and eleven year old sons when he passed.

Dr. Carrillo-Jimenez and the Delray Medical Center are defending another wrongful death suit. Brian Yellin sued the hospital and several doctors after his wife died. She was admitted the ER suffering abdominal pain, heart palpitations and other symptoms. She was found unconscious in a hospital bed four days later, having suffered two heart attacks that left her with a brain injury. Yellin sued the hospital, alleging that Dr. Carrillo-Jimenez had mismanaged his wife’s blood-thinning medications.

Delray Medical Center sued for wrongful death of husband, father, www.sun-sentinel.com August 10, 2012.

Published on: May 28, 2012

Elderly Woman Sues Hospital After Falling Off Operating Table

by Friedland | Carmona

Eighty-one year old Florence Fiedler was admitted into Yale-New Haven Hospital in February of 2010 to have a pacemaker implanted. After the surgery, while she was on the operating table, she fell off of the table and suffered severe injuries, including “fractures of the hip and collarbone, a traumatic head injury that resulted in bleeding and under her skull.” Because of the fall, Fiedler has had to relearn how to walk, cannot driver her car, has trouble climbing the stairs, cannot live in her home and is now essentially a shut in.

Fielder filed a lawsuit against the hospital in Connecticut, alleging the hospital failed to implement procedures and policies that would have prevented Fiedler from falling. The suit also alleges that the medical staff was aware that Fiedler was still affected by the medications she received during surgery, which put her at an increased risk for falling. Additionally, she contends that the medical staff did not place the operating table at “its lowest position before allowing Fielder to reposition herself” and that the medical staff improperly left Fielder unattended.

Yale-New Haven is a teaching hospital that often hosts students from Yale University’s School of Medicine. Yale University is also named in the lawsuit. Neither the school nor the hospital has commented on the lawsuit. Fielder is seeking more than $15,000 in damages.

Woman sues hospital over fall off operating table, www.miamiherald.com May 22, 2012.

Published on: January 16, 2012

Miramar Teen Given Improper Vaccine Wins Millions

by Friedland | Carmona

When she was just a baby, Shaniah Rolle was given a vaccine that caused her to lose all four of her limbs. Following the removal of her spleen as a newborn, Rolle was given a special vaccination that was intended to protect people without spleens from infection but the vaccine had been expired for five months. When Rolle was eight months old, she was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Doctors discovered she had a bacterial infection throughout her body and blood clots had formed in arms and legs. Because the infection had led to gangrene in her limbs, doctors were forced to amputate her arms and legs above the joints. “She developed the very disease they were supposed to inoculate her against,” her attorney said. Fortunately, Rolle was fitted with prosthetics and has been living a relatively normal life since the amputation.

Rolle’s mother filed the medical malpractice suit against the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine in 2002. The case finally went to trial late last year. University of Miami’s lawyers argued that Rolle would still have contracted the illness whether or not she was given the vaccine because her mother did not give her enough medication to prevent the infection.

Despite the attorney’s contentions, after five weeks of trial and three days of deliberations, the jurors awarded Rolle $12.6 million dollars. The jurors found the doctor who treated Rolle, Dr. Jeffrey Bosco, five percent at fault, but found several other doctors not liable. However, the jurors found her mother forty percent at fault for not administering the correct amount of medication. As a result, Rolle’s award will be cut almost in half. The University of Miami is expected to appeal the award.

Miramar teen who lost limbs wins millions in malpractice suit, www.miamiherald.com January 15, 2012.

Published on: January 9, 2012

Vero Beach Couple Sues Indian River Medical Center For Son’s Birth Injury

by Friedland | Carmona

A little over three years ago, at thirty-eight weeks pregnant, Melissa Guettler walked into the Indian River Medical Center intending to have her labor induced so that she could naturally deliver her baby boy. According to Guettler’s attorney, after admission to the hospital, Guettler began to display warning signs that something was wrong. Hospital staff ignored these warnings and Guettler was forced to have an emergency cesarean section. During the cesarean section, doctors discovered that Guettler’s uterus had ruptured and quickly delivered her son Patrick, who was not breathing at the time. Hospital staff was able to revive Patrick, but he now has cerebral palsy, which Guettler and her husband Conrad argue is a result of medical malpractice. The Guettlers are seeking $6.5 to $10 million for Patrick’s lifetime care as they contend the doctor’s negligence was what cause his brain damage at birth.

During the trial’s opening arguments, which began January 5, 2012, the Guettlers alleged that an inexperienced nurse attending to Melissa triggered a chain of events that led to both their son’s cerebral palsy and the removal of Melissa’s reproductive organs. Attorneys for the Indian River Medical Center claimed that the medical problems arose when Melissa’s uterus ruptured, which was unforeseeable and there was nothing doctors could have done to prevent the rupture. The trial is expected to take weeks, with numerous experts from across the nation scheduled to testify.

Three-year old Patrick’s intellect is fine despite having cerebral palsy; however, he falls a lot, can’t speak well and “slobbers so much he sleeps between his parents so they can prevent him choking.” Melissa Guettler, who had three children without any problems before Patrick, is now no longer able to have children because her reproductive organs were removed during the cesarean section. The Guettler’s multimillion-dollar request does not include damages for Melissa’s loss of her reproductive organs.

St. Lucie couple seeks lifelong care for brain-damaged infant, as medical malpractice trial begins, www.tcpalm.com January 5, 2012.

Published on: November 14, 2011

Florida Supreme Court Upholds Palm Beach Widow’s $10.3 Million Malpractice Award

by Friedland | Carmona

A medical mistake cost Nadine Raphael’s husband his life. In 2003, Raphael’s husband, a patient at Palms West Hospital, suffered irrevocable heart damage when he was not given the anti-clotting drug Retavase while suffering a heart attack. He later died from the heart attack.

Raphael filed a medical malpractice suit two years after her husband’s death and asked for the damage award to include compensation for her pain and suffering. She was awarded $10.3 million dollars for her loss. Lawyers instantly appealed the decision because three months after Raphael’s husband died, the Florida Legislature placed a $1 million cap on the amount juries can award in medical malpractice cases. The new law caps pain and suffering awards at $150,000 per person. The lawyers argued over whether the new law would apply to Raphael’s case. Raphael’s lawyers argued that the law was inapplicable to her case because it was not in effect when her husband died. Lawyers for Dr. James Schecter, the emergency room physician who cared for Raphael’s husband, argued that the law should apply because the law was in effect when Raphael filed her case two years after her husband’s death. In 2009, the Fourth District Court of Appeal refused to allow the law to be applied retroactively and upheld the award for Raphael. The Florida Supreme Court also upheld the $10.3 million award, referencing an earlier decision in which it refused to apply a law retroactively.

Unfortunately, because Dr. Schecter has a $1 million limit on his insurance policy Raphael will not get her award right away. Her attorneys plan to file a bad faith claim against Dr. Shecter’s insurer, claiming that the insurance company should have settled the case before trial and because it failed to do so, should pay out the entire $10.3 million award.

Supreme Court lets stand $10.3 million award in Palm Beach County medical malpractice case, www.palmbeachpost.com November 9, 2011.