Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Filed in April 2019

153. Henderson v. Briton Woods (filed April 10, 2019) – A man suffers a spinal cord injury resulting in tetraplegia requiring him to be on a ventilator and feeding tube. He is transferred to a rehabilitation center where he develops numerous pressure ulcers requiring surgery and sepsis. He additionally is diagnosed with C. difficile and pneumonia. Despite medical management, he passes away.
154. Schnitzlein v. Anonymous Dentist (filed April 11, 2019) – A woman sees a dentist to have the majority of her teeth extracted to get dentures. The dentist performs the procedure and after, she develops continuing pain. He makes no diagnosis, but rather, only gives her a prescription. It becomes so bad that she goes to the emergency room where she discovers she has a severe infection, specifically osteomyelitis of her jaw, and has to have a mandibulectomy as well as other procedures.
155. Lewis v. Anonymous Dentist (filed April 11, 2019) – This case involves a woman who was told by her dentist she needed caps on all of her teeth. She had the procedure performed and after she experienced continuing pain. Nearly all of the caps have now fell off or are defective and need to be replaced.
156. Williams v. Anonymous Doctor (filed April 12, 2019) – A baby is put into daycare where she is beaten continuously. The mother, after noticing bruises on her baby, takes her to a doctor to figure it out why she has them. The doctor fails to detect signs of abuse and tells her the baby is healthy. She is returned to day care where she is beaten so severely she dies at only 6 months of age.
157. Fakheri v. GMBC (filed April 3, 2019) – A woman seeks acute psychiatric care and is placed in the crisis intervention unit of the hospital’s emergency department. Only one nurse was working in that unit and to help provide all patients care, she delegates some of her work to a security guard. As a result, the security guard is left unattended with the plaintiff who alleges he sexually harassed and assaulted her.
158. Coates v. Wexford Health Sources (filed April 11, 2019) – This case involves a man who needs an eye procedure to correct pain he is suffering from. Despite his continuing pain and other symptoms, his doctor will not perform the surgery but rather has only continued to prescribe him medication and eye drops.
159. Hudson v. Hagerstown Heart, P.A. (filed April 15, 2019) – A 61-year-old man with a history of heart disease goes to the doctor with complaints of chest and arm pain. A stress test and others are completed that indicate he is experiencing cardiac ischemia, however, the doctor only gives him a prescription for beta blockers and sends him home. He is found dead later that night.
160. Salmeron v. Nerve Bone and Joint Institute (filed April 16, 2019) – This case involves a man who cut his finger and developed an infection. He required a nerve graft to fix it, but his surgeon performed the procedure prior to eradicating the infection within the soft tissue. As a result, it did not heal properly and he was left with severe pain. The surgeon unsuccessfully performed a second procedure to attempt to correct his pain ten months later.
161. Basciano v. Advanced Radiology (filed April 17, 2019) – A woman’s left arm is left paralyzed after suffering a stroke and is to have an MRI. The radiologist does not secure her paralyzed arm with a strap and when the MRI table was moving out of the machine, her arm got caught and she sustained a left humerus fracture.
162. Harris-Reese v. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (filed April 17, 2019) – A one-year-old child has a BMTT procedure done where ear tubes are surgically placed to stop recurring ear infections. He has sickle-cell anemia and asthma, both of which can cause oxygenation complications when under anesthesia. These risk are not conveyed to his parents and precautions are not taken by the anesthesia team. He suffers a permanently disabling anoxic brain injury while under and will never be able to live an independent life.
163. Tringali v. Mercy Medical Center (filed April 18, 2019) – A woman has surgery to correct pain in her knee following a knee replacement. After the procedure, she continues to experience pain in and behind her knee. It is discovered that cement chipped away from the implant and a drain was left in her knee from the second surgery. She now requires an additional surgery remove it.
164. Phelps v. Corizon Health (filed April 19, 2019) – A pretrial detainee going through heroin withdrawal is in custody and not properly monitored or evaluated. He takes a bedsheet into is bathroom and hangs himself with it.
165. Bready v. Wexford Health Services (filed April 22, 2019) – An inmate is diagnosed with a hernia and suffering from immense pain. During the course of his treatment by corrections, treatment and medications are continuously delayed in addition to surgery. After 21 months, surgery is finally provided and he has now recovered.
166. Cole v. Sinai Hospital of Baltimore (filed April 22, 2019) – A 70-year-old man had a heart block and has a pacemaker permanently implanted. A month later, he is hypotensive and an echocardiogram is done. The results are not read until a day later and reveal he is suffering from severe mitral valve regurgitation requiring emergency surgical intervention. Sadly, these results are read too late and he passes away.
167. Parker v. Prince George’s Hospital Center (filed April 22, 2019) – This case involves a 27-year-old man who was showing clear signs of inflammatory myelopathy, however, his doctors failed to diagnose it quickly enough. He is now suffers from permanent neurological impairment and can no longer walk or live on his own.
168. Crandall v. Baltimore Washington Medical Center (filed April 23, 2019) – A middle-aged man goes to the emergency room where he is diagnosed with a ureteral obstruction and sepsis. Despite this diagnosis, an urologist is not called for until 12 hours later. By the time any measures were taken to treat him and remove the obstruction, his sepsis was too advanced and he was in renal failure. He passed away from sepsis due to a urinary tract infection and resultant organ failure.
169. Portillo v. Suburban Hospital (filed April 23, 2019) – A patient is in the emergency department for chest pain and is diagnosed with an aortic dissection requiring surgery to fix it. The surgery is performed and the patient is discharged to rehab. While in the rehab, the patient is found unresponsive and dies. An autopsy reveals improperly sized endographs were used by the surgeon which caused his aorta to rupture resulting in his death.
170. Deane v. Anonymous Dentist (filed April 23, 2019) – A dentist’s extracts several teeth and damages nerves on both sides of the patients mouth in doing so. She now suffers from permanent numbness on both sides.
171. Williams v. Holy Cross Health (filed April 23, 2019) – A baby is born and two days after she is born, the medical staff drops her causing a femoral diaphyseal fracture that will leave her with permanent injury.
172. Raimondo v. Innovative GYN Care (filed April 24, 2019) – A single mother needs a hysterectomy but is worried about the recovery time. She finds a company online offering a new laparoscopic technique with very minimal recovery. This technique is not within traditional accepted standards and it increases the risk of bleeding and injury. The surgeon unknowingly cuts her uterine artery and discharges her leaving it open and pumping blood. She requires a serious abdominal surgery but doctors are able to save her. She was out of work for three months and suffers psychologically and emotionally.
173. Ringgold v. University of Maryland Medical System (filed April 25, 2019) – This case involves a woman who died of liver failure. She needed surgery, and pre-surgical tests indicated her liver was not functioning, however, the surgery was performed anyway. After surgery, it became apparent she was in liver failure and needed a liver transplant. There was discussion of transferring her to a hospital capable of performing the transplant, however, it never happened and she remained there until her death.
174. Chorba v. North Arundel Health and Rehabilitation (filed April 25, 2019) – A 76-year-old woman is in a rehab center after hip surgery and considered a high fall risk. She is found crawling on the floor but no exam is performed. In the days following her condition significantly worsens and she is transferred to a hospital. It is discovered she has a femoral fracture from a fall and needs surgery. Surgery is performed, but is too much for her and she passes away.
175. Bromley v. Anonymous Doctor (filed April 25, 2019) – Following recovery from an intracranial hemorrhage and seizure, a man is showing continuing signs of depression. His wife expresses her concern for her husband’s mental state and life, however, his doctor neither performs nor recommends a psychological evaluation but rather states it is likely a side effect of medication he is on. Two days after that appointment, he shot and killed himself.
176. Jennings v. Dialysis Access Specialists (filed April 25, 2019) – An 82-year-old dialysis patient needs a dialysis catheter exchange. She has the procedure and returns to the nursing home she lives at where five hours later she is found dead. An autopsy is performed that reveals a hemodialysis catheter tip is found in her right atrium of her heart.
177. Edwards v. Carroll Hospital Center (filed April 26, 2019) – A woman has surgery performed for a paraesophageal hernia and is showing concerning symptoms postoperatively. Doctor’s fail to detect that she is suffering from a bowel perforation and sepsis. Luckily, they are able to save her life, however, she has to undergo various treatments and surgeries and was in the hospital for 7 months after her initial admission. She still has not fully recovered.
178. Yu v. Anonymous Dentist (filed April 26, 2019) – A woman needs a crown on one of her teeth and during the procedure, the dentist drills into the wrong tooth. Knowing this, he installs an unnecessary crown on the incorrect tooth without telling her in addition to the tooth that needed it. She does not learn of this until having complications after the procedure that will require further dental work.
179. Dermota v. GMBC (filed April 26, 2019) – A man has a spinal fusion surgery and after suffers more pain and limited mobility than before. These complications are temporary, however, he is not informed of this and becomes increasingly depressed. The hospital is aware of his mental state but does nothing to monitor or treat him. He is then found hanging from the body lift in his hospital room. He is resuscitated but does not regain consciousness and dies.
180. Fisher v. Baltimore Washington Medical Center (filed April 29, 2019) – A 47-year-old woman is diagnosed with a lymph node disease and requires surgery that carries a high risk of bleeding. During and after the surgery there are signs of an intraoperative bleed, however, doctors failed to consider it. While in recovery, her condition progressively worsens until she goes into hemorrhagic shock and cardiopulmonary arrest. It is then discovered her Azygos vein was damaged. She requires two additional surgeries to repair it and she has yet to fully recover.
181. Rocklin v. Union Memorial Hospital (filed April 29, 2019) – A 78-year-old woman has an infected finger and requires surgery. Up until her hospital admission she has been taking blood thinners, however, after she is admitted her anti-coagulant treatment is not continued despite her medical history and high risk of developing blood clots. While still in the hospital, she is found unresponsive on the floor and dies from a pulmonary embolism.
182. Askew v. Dimensions Health Corporation (filed April 30, 2019) – A 62-year-old woman diagnosed with atrial fibrillation goes to the emergency room complaining of dizziness and a rapid heartbeat. A head CT is taken, however, doctors fail to recognize evidence of thrombosis. It is finally caught, but she has already suffered a stroke. The hospital she is at does not offer the stroke treatment she needs and fails to transfer her right away. Despite eventually being transferred and treated, the damage progresses and she passes away.
183. Truax v. Parkway Neuroscience and Spine Institute (filed April 30, 2019) – A man is suffering from cervical myelopathy and doctors fail to diagnose it despite him showing clear symptoms. It is finally diagnosed and surgery is performed, however, mistakes are made that enhance the spinal cord injury and he now suffers from paraplegia, among other injuries.
184. Riddle v. Suburban Hospital (filed April 30, 2019) – A 61-year-old man with a history of heavy alcohol consumption and sleep apnea requiring him to use a CPAP machine is admitted to the hospital for a suspected gastrointestinal bleed. While there, he goes through alcohol withdrawal and despite the doctor’s knowledge of severe sleep apnea, a CPAP machine is not provided. He is not observationally monitored and suffers a devastating anoxic brain injury that causes his death.
185. Connolly v. South River Periodontics (filed April 30, 2019) – The plaintiff has implant and tooth extraction work done and in the process, sustains a permanent injury to the inferior alveolar nerve as a result of an improper extraction. Additionally, the implants fail and have to be removed which result in serious infection. Because of this, the plaintiff can no longer have implants but is limited to a ridge.

---