Medical Malpractice News
According to the American Cancer Society, one out of every nine American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetimes. Due to advances in treatment, only one in 41 will die. The key is an early diagnosis. Michael E. Gunter, a Vietnam War veteran, was lucky to survive his bout with prostate cancer, but an earlier diagnosis could have saved him from a shortened life expectancy, permanent disfigurement, loss of normal life, not to mention the pain and suffering he experienced.
Gunter, now 69, first started getting screened for prostate cancer when he was 50. On April 29, 2009, Gunter switched his primary physician to Dr. Razia Sami, who immediately scheduled a prostate exam. After getting the results of the testing, Sami recorded abnormal results and recommended further testing. Five months later, Gunter scheduled an appointment with Dr. Kent Johnson, a urologist at the Marion VA Medical Center located in Marion, Illinois.
According to a medical malpractice lawsuit, filed on behalf of Gunter, Dr. Johnson believed that he “had a 42 percent chance of having prostate cancer.” But Johnson did not order a biopsy or a follow-up visit and he allegedly never mentioned to Gunter that he might be suffering from cancer. It was allegedly not until Gunter was transferred to Dr. Gerald L. Andriole at the Barnes Jewish Hospital at the end of 2012 that a biopsy was performed and cancer was found.
During the four-day bench trial in district court, Andriole testified that if a biopsy had been performed as early as 2009, “there is a good chance it would have shown cancer and it may have been smaller.” This would have made the operation less risky and may not have affected Gunter’s health as profoundly. Gunter told the court that the ordeal has caused him to suffer from erectile dysfunction and post-traumatic stress disorder. He also told the court that if Johnson had told him there was such a high chance of having cancer in 2009, he would have climbed on top of Dr. Johnson’s desk and screamed “what are we going to do about it?”
“Gunter’s testimony is credible,” wrote Judge Staci M. Yandle in her decision. “In light of the totality of the evidence in this case, the court finds it is highly unlikely that if Gunter was told he had a 42 percent chance of having prostate cancer, he would do nothing.”
According to the American Cancer Society, one out of every nine American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetimes. Due to advances in treatment, only one in 41 will die. The key is an early diagnosis. Michael E. Gunter, a Vietnam War veteran, was lucky to survive his bout with prostate cancer,
Read MoreWhen Lisa Ellis went into labor with her first child on April 26, 2001, Matthew Ellis, her husband, was ready. He quickly packed the car and rushed his wife and unborn son into the Aultman Hospital in Canton, Ohio. Lisa had a difficult delivery. Her son’s head was facing in the wrong direction and her
Read MoreWhen Sydney Galleger was told that she needed to get her wisdom teeth removed, she decided to wait until she finished her junior year of high school. Galleger was busy with her final exams and planning out which colleges she would be applying to the next year. On June 9, 2015, a few weeks after her
Read MoreKathy Arient, then 58, sought out medical attention in October 2012, complaining of severe stomach pains. She was referred to Dr. Yasser Alhaj-Hussein, who worked at the Orland Park Surgical Center in Illinois. According to a medical malpractice lawsuit, filed on behalf of Arient’s family, during a celiac plexus block procedure, intended to help manage
Read MoreThis article provides an overview of New Mexico medical malpractice law. Lawmakers in the Land of Enchantment have fashioned a distinctive medical malpractice system whose signature features include a state malpractice insurance fund, strict limits on monetary damages, and a mandate to obtain a medical review panel’s opinion before filing suit. Because it is useful
Read MoreThe Law of Medical Malpractice in Utah: A Survey of Basic Considerations Utah medical malpractice law is among the most complex legal practice areas. The statutes, case law, and regulations governing medical malpractice law in Utah are highly technical. For instance, there are very strict and complicated filing deadlines that must be followed, or the injured
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On August 11, 2012, Morley Reed Sprague was rushed to the hospital. He was suffering from sepsis, a potentially lethal condition stemming from a severe infection, and a urinary tract infection. Sprague, then 57, had been suffering from MS for nearly two decades and in 2012 he was confined to a wheelchair. After a 12
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After completing a 5k race in October 2012, Sandra Williams experienced an intense pain in her neck. Barely able to move her head, Williams, then 55, consulted doctors at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Georgia. She quickly agreed to undergo a neck operation scheduled just four days after the race. The surgery was deemed a
Read MoreOn February 24, 1998, the year after graduating from high school, Jason Simcakoski joined the United States Marine Corps. Simcakoski served for four years and was honorably discharged in 2002 after sustaining a significant injury to his head. After his service was over he began suffering from anxiety attacks and sought treatment at the Tomah
Read MoreIn April 2014, while under the care of Whitestone Care Center, Edward Arnold allegedly broke several bones in his body and came down with pneumonia. Arnold, 70-years-old at the time, was at the Whitestone nursing home, located in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, for only twenty days. According to a medical malpractice lawsuit, filed on behalf of his
Read MoreToward the end of 2009, after having trouble conceiving, Danielle Madden Buck and her husband decided to try in-vitro fertilization. The procedure worked and Buck became pregnant with triplets. Her doctors, however, advised her that carrying triplets was dangerous and that twins would be more likely to survive than three infants. Buck took the recommendation
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Mercy Hospital and Two Missouri Doctors Found Negligent for Misdiagnosis; Jury Awards Plaintiff $12,820,990 Vincent Lowe woke up on April 30, 2014 in agonizing pain. He tried to endure the discomfort in his abdomen, but when the throbbing became unbearable Lowe was rushed to the emergency room at Mercy Hospital, located in Washington, Missouri. The
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South Florida Jury Finds Doctor Negligent in 2011 Medical Malpractice Lawsuit; Awards Plaintiff $16,922,000 On November 21, 2008, the pain in Stephanie Hollingsworth’s feet and hands became so acute that she went to the emergency room at Holy Cross Hospital, located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Hollingsworth, then 26, believed that the pain was from an
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Jury Finds New Jersey Hospital & Doctor Liable for Brain Trauma; Awards Family $17 Million Kelsey Heaney was seven-years-old when she began showing signs of respiratory distress. Her symptoms became so severe that her parents rushed her to the Jersey Shore University Medical Center on November 14, 2008. The attending physicians quickly diagnosed Heaney with
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Dangerous Deliveries: Forceps and Vacuum Births Gone Wrong Rachel Melancon and her fiancée, Allen Coats, were overjoyed when they learned in the spring of 2013 that they were having a baby. “I just found out that you are swimming in my tummy. I have waited for you so long,” the 24-year-old expectant mother wrote in her
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Jury Finds Eastern Maine Medical Center & Surgeon Negligent for Medical Malpractice; Awards Robbie Nason $2 Million On July 17, 2013, Robbie Nason went to work at Old Town Canoe located in Old Town, Maine, just as he had for over a decade. Nason, 49, started building boats for Old Town Canoe in 1989 and
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The Law of Medical Malpractice in Rhode Island: A Survey of Basic Considerations Rhode Island medical malpractice law is among the most complex legal practice areas. The statutes, case law, and regulations governing medical malpractice law in Rhode Island are highly technical. For instance, there are very strict and complicated filing deadlines that must be
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Florida Supreme Court Rules Secret Ex Parte Interviews of Medical Malpractice Plaintiffs’ Doctors Unconstitutional On November 9, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Weaver v. Myers, No. SC15-1538 (Nov. 9, 2017). In Weaver, the Supreme Court struck two provisions pertaining to secret, ex parte interviews with plaintiffs’ healthcare providers in connection
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The Law of Medical Malpractice in Kentucky: A Survey of Basic Considerations This article provides an overview of Kentucky medical malpractice law. The Bluegrass State generally treats malpractice claims the same as other types of negligence claims, with a few important exceptions. Kentucky lawmakers have been deterred from placing a statutory maximum limit on monetary
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During Samantha Alpert’s senior year at Livingston High School, she was informed by her doctors that she had a benign bone growth in her left leg called osteochondroma. Steven Robbins, her orthopedic surgeon, wanted to check for cancer and performed a biopsy on June 5, 2013. According to a medical malpractice lawsuit, filed on behalf
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In August 2010, Joann Shull Bannister and her husband were told by Dr. Philip Kinder that his team at Columbia Urological Associates were planning on surgically removing a lesion from her left kidney. The Bannisters were relieved when it was determined shortly thereafter that the surgery was unnecessary. According to a medical malpractice lawsuit, filed
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Esmeralda Tripp, then 42, went to see her doctor for a checkup in September 2013. Tripp was taking a prescribed blood thinner called Coumadin and she had a history of seizures. Her primary physician was concerned that her blood was actually too thin and told Tripp that she needed to go straight to an emergency
Read MoreJump To: The Law of Medical Malpractice in Mississippi:I. Overview of Basic Principles and ConceptsII. Filing Deadlines for Medical Malpractice ClaimsIII. Presuit Notice and Medical Expert ConsultationIV. Immunities and Limitations on LiabilityV. Medical Expert WitnessesVI. Comparative Negligence / Proportionate LiabilityVII. Limitations on DamagesVIII. Limitations on Attorney FeesIX. Patient Compensation FundsX. Apologies and Sympathetic GesturesXI. Communications
Read MoreOn February 29, 2016, Andrew J. Martin, then 70 years old, was brought into the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Margaret Martin, his wife, and their three children, were under the impression that he would be quickly returning from the hospital in good health. But after spending 77 days at the
Read MoreEarly in 2014, Dominique Adkins underwent an operation to have her thyroid gland removed at a hospital in Charleston, West Virginia. Adkins, 38 at the time, came out of the operation unable to speak and in severe pain. According to a medical malpractice lawsuit, filed in March 2016, her doctor allegedly impaired critical nerves in
Read MoreYandle awarded Gunter $1.93 million in damages on January 19, 2018. It is not yet clear whether the VA will appeal the ruling.