Patients Undergo Risky, Unnecessary Medical Procedure

The Baltimore Sun reports hundreds of heart patients from St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland may have undergone an unnecessary medical procedure. St. Joseph Medical Center calls itself the busiest heart catheterization center in Maryland, and is thought of as one of the primary cardiac care facilities in the area.

At least 369 patients have received letters informing them they may have received expensive and potentially dangerous coronary stents they did not need. At the time of their surgery the patients were told they needed the stent to open an artery which had severe blockage. They have since learned their blockage was only minor.

Dr. Mark Midei is the only doctor implicated in the hospital investigation so far. He allegedly told patients they had up to a 90 percent blockage, when in fact they had only a 10 percent blockage. In other patients, he placed two stents when only one was necessary. […]

Jury Awards $15M After Medical Errors Caused Boy’s Death

A Suffolk County jury has found two doctors at Children’s Hospital Boston caused the death of a 3-year-old boy and must pay his parents $15 million, reports the Boston Globe. This is an unusual amount for a medical malpractice case involving death — settlements this large are more usual for severely injured patients requiring years of expensive treatment.

The Pennsylvania boy was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a complex but treatable birth defect which affects the flow of blood through the heart. After several surgeries to try to widen the arteries carrying blood to his heart, the young boy was referred to another doctor who performed a catheterization. Within hours of this surgery the boy suffered a seizure found to be caused by contrast dye used in the surgery leaking into his brain.

During an MRI a tiny piece of metal — probably from a medical instrument — […]

Boy’s Parents Awarded $22.3M In Medical Negligence Suit

The Chicago Sun-Times reports a Cook County jury has awarded the parents of a 10-year-old boy $22.3 million in a medical negligence case that resulted in the loss of the boy’s leg shortly after his birth.

The young boy was born in May 1999 with a congenital heart defect which required a shunt procedure performed at Advocate Christ Medical Center/Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Two weeks after being sent home, the parents returned the infant to the emergency room.

The lawsuit alleged his left leg had to be amputated due to mistakes made in the operating room. The child also suffers from cognitive deficiencies and developmental delays alleged to be caused by the delayed treatment and cardiac catheterization.

The jury found the hospital and staff were negligent in failing to diagnose the infant’s shunt problems in time and subjecting him to an unnecessary catheterization. […]

Man Awarded $6 Million When Tree Limb Falls, Causes Broken Neck

What is reported to be one of the largest verdicts in Hunterdon County has been awarded to a Delaware Township man for injuries suffered when a large tree limb fell on his car in 2006.

Kenneth Matlock and his wife suffered broken necks when a limb from an oak tree fell onto their car from a height of about 20 feet, according to news reports. Mr. Matlock is permanently disabled from the incident.

The DOT was found to be responsible since the tree was in the state’s right-of-way. The tree was thought to have been weakened from recent flooding and rot. The lawsuit claimed the defendants failed to maintain the property next to the road and failed to warn drivers of the tree hazards which they knew of and failed to fix.

There had been 55 reports of tree-related incidents in the area in the 2 years prior to Matlock’s accident. […]

Homeless Man Awarded $41,000 for Fraternity Shooting Incident

A homeless man who was shot with a .22 caliber rifle by an Oregon State University fraternity member has been awarded over $6,000 for medical expenses and $35,000 in non-economic damages, totaling over $40,000.

The jury found both the Association of Alpha Beta Chapter of Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) and a former member responsible for the 2006 shooting, according to news reports. The national organization was not held responsible.

Witnesses testified that the fraternity members were known to shoot BB guns from the fraternity building windows and had talked about shooting homeless people with BB guns, news reports stated. After a search of the fraternity house, police found more than 24 firearms. The guns are allowed according to the AGR guidelines as long as they are securely locked.

The individual found liable in the case testified he was aiming at a dumpster and not the homeless man. […]