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Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Filed in March 2019
- Wise v. Anne Arundel Medical Center (filed March 1, 2019) – An 63-year-old overweight man with a family history of diabetes seeks out a primary care physician for general services who fails to perform basic screening services capable of detecting diabetes on multiple occasions. As a result, his diabetes goes undiagnosed and he develops a severe bacterial infection in his hand that requires multiple surgeries. He now has limited function and a cosmetic deformity that is irreversible.
- Hall v. Corizon Health (filed March 1, 2019) – A prison inmate injures his arm and is misdiagnosed with a fracture that will health on its own. He is not referred to an orthopedist until 49 days later after his arm has not healed properly. He is now left with limited function in his arm.
- Ciccotelli v. Maryland Health Enterprises (filed March 4, 2019) – Fall precautions are not taken for a nursing home patient who is classified as a high fall risk and has a history of doing so. She falls out of her wheelchair and suffers a subdural hematoma requiring an emergent craniotomy.
- Nwairo v. Howard County General Hospital (filed March 4, 2019) – A woman is being treated for a bowel obstruction and has a nasogastric tube that is incorrectly inserted and becomes displaced causing her to develop sepsis. She suffers cardiac arrest and despite resuscitation efforts, she dies.
- Bennett v. Anne Arundel Medical Group (filed March 5, 2019) – A 28-year-old pregnant mother with a history of two prior dilation and curettages has a decreasing cervical length, however, her OB/GYN fails to place a cerclage or advise her that without one, she would likely have a preterm delivery. The baby is born at 24 weeks gestation and suffers a debilitating brain injury.
- Buchanan v. University of Maryland Surgical Associates (filed March 5, 2019) – A 70-year-old man undergoes surgery for atrial fibrillation and the surgeon accidentally lacerates his diaphragm and liver, requiring the procedure to be aborted. From the trauma and blood loss he suffers cardiac arrest, however, doctors can stabilize him. The surgeon makes a second attempt at the procedure but he was not able to withstand it and again, the surgery is aborted. As a result, his atrial fibrillation was unable to be repaired and his condition readily declined until he suffered cardiac arrest and died.
- Leidman v. Johns Hopkins Community Physicians (filed March 5, 2019) – A woman sees her doctor for complaints of exertional chest pain and left shoulder pain. An ECG is taken and interpreted as abnormal and he determines should have a nuclear stress test, but not emergently. Two days later she is admitted to the hospital with a myocardial infarction where she dies on the catheterization lab table from cardiac arrest.
- Scott v. Medstar Health (filed March 5, 2019) – A surgeon fails to promptly detect an infection in his patient after he had performed a total knee replacement. As a result, she has to undergo multiple surgical debridements, hospitalizations, physical therapy, and now has a permanent disability in her leg.
- Quaranta v. Chesapeake Urology (filed March 6, 2019) – A man undergoes a left varicocelectomy, which is the removal of enlarged veins in the scrotum. Following the procedure, he develops scrotal swelling and suffers a testicular rupture and scrotal abscess which causes testicular ischemia. As a result, he loses one of his testicles.
- Roe v. Anonymous Doctor (filed March 6, 2019) – A doctor inappropriately examines three different patients in a sexual nature.
- Taylor v. Wexford Health Sources (filed March 6, 2019) – A paraplegic prison inmate is being transferred in a wheelchair that is not properly restrained in a vehicle. During the trip, the vehicles stops abruptly and he was thrown backward landing on his head. He is initially taken to the hospital, but after he returns to prison, he is not provided any care or treatment for his injuries.
- Gilkerson v. Anonymous Dentist (filed March 7, 2019) – A dentist incorrectly treats a woman’s tooth. As a result, she is forced to have the tooth extracted which renders a bridge she has completely useless. She now must undergo additional dental and surgical procedures.
- Crawley v. Bay Manor Nursing Home (filed March 6, 2019) – A woman is admitted into a nursing home facility and considered at low risk for developing pressure ulcers. While there, she nevertheless develops pressure sores, some of which became unstageable. Additional, she falls more than ten times. These injuries increase her deterioration up until her death.
- Singer v. Franklin Square Hospital (filed March 7, 2019) – A pregnant mother presents to the emergency room with symptoms of thromboembolic disease, however, the doctor fails to make a diagnosis and discharges her. While home, she suffers cardiac arrest and both her and the baby die. An autopsy confirms the cause of death was pulmonary thromboembolism.
- Shuman v. Sinai Hospital (filed March 7, 2019) – During a pregnant mother’s care, her doctors fail to properly monitor and consider twin anemia polycythemia sequence, a form of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. As a result, she loses one of the babies.
- Renaud v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed March 7, 2019) – A child is born with heart defects that are not correctly diagnosed or treated. As a result, he suffers from strokes that leave him with permanent brain damage, requiring a lifetime of care and treatment.
- Akmal v. Alfred House Elder Care (filed March 7, 2019) – A patient at a rehab facility is walking back to his room accompanied by a staff member when the staff member slips on a puddle of water and falls. As the attendant falls, they grab the patient and he goes down with them hitting his head. The impact caused him to suffer a brain hemorrhage that proved fatal causing his death later that night.
- Arnicar v. SSC Glen Burnie Operating Company (filed March 8, 2019) – An immobile nursing home patient develops pressure wounds and osteomyelitis that contribute to her premature death.
- Swain v. Anonymous Doctor (filed March 8, 2019) – A patient undergoes a bowel anastomosis and becomes increasingly sick after, however, the surgeon fails to consider an anastomotic leak. The patient eventually goes to the emergency room where a CT scan confirms a leak due to a bowel perforation that has now caused him to become septic. Sadly, the doctors are unable to save him.
- Leko-Shapiro v. Discovery Pediatrics (filed March 8, 2019) – A pediatrician fails to diagnose a child’s developmental hip dysplasia. Despite there being symptoms, no radiologic scans were ever taken. As a result, her condition remains undiagnosed until she is two years old. As a result, she requires extensive surgery. Had this been diagnosed early, surgery would likely not have been necessary.
- Phillips v. Franklin Square Hospital (filed March 8, 2019) – A 51-year-old smoker has a chest x-ray and CT scan that both show abnormal findings. Further tests are recommended, but her insurance company denies any further imaging. There is no follow up by her doctor to either the insurance denial or herself. Additionally, bronchoscopy is scheduled for further investigation, but it is never performed. She then learns she has stage IV non-small cell lung cancer that she succumbs to.
- Kuhnreich v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (filed March 11, 2019) – A patient has type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome that are not timely diagnosed or treated. As a result, he develops endocarditis, a valvular infection and abscess formation, and embolic brain damage.
- Ryan v. Glass Health Programs (filed March 11, 2019) – A patient is seeking help with opioid addiction from a treatment facility where he is prescribed methadone. The staff dispenses it to him in unsafe doses, ultimately resulting in his death from methadone intoxication.
- Hawes v. Med Star Southern Maryland Hospital (filed March 11, 2019) – A neurosurgery patient develops shortness of breath while in recovery, however, no assessment of his surgical site, vital signs, or respiratory status is performed. He codes due to a neck hematoma that caused his airway to be obstructed resulting in a respiratory arrest for 12 minutes and develops anoxic encephalopathy. Sadly, he passes away.
- Roberson v. Quality Care for Men’s Health Management (filed March 11, 2019) – A man is seeking assistance with maintaining erections and without any testing, bloodwork, or a discussion of alternative options the doctor injects his penis with an inducing agent. He suffers from an erection that will not abate for over two days causing him immense pain and is forced to have his penis drained using an invasive, irreversible procedure that leaves him with a permanent injury.
- Butler v. Washington Adventist Hospital (filed March 11, 2019) – A man presents in the emergency room with stroke-like symptoms where a CT scan is taken indicating he suffered a small chronic stroke. No further testing is performed and he is transferred to another hospital where due to his altered mental status, a brain MRI scan is taken that reveals acute infarcts. It turns out he suffered from a combination of strokes that leave him debilitated and ultimately lead to his death.
- Chinchilla v. Anonymous Doctor (filed March 12, 2019) – A disabled patient undergoes surgery for trigeminal neuralgia. During the procedure, there is significant bleeding, however, the surgeon fails to adequately address it and continues. She suffers hydrocephalus and a cerebellar stroke resulting in irreversible brain damage leaving her neurologically unresponsive.
- Black v. Howard County General Hospital (filed March 13, 2019) – A seven-year-old girl falls while doing gymnastics and lands on her arm. She goes to the emergency room where x-rays are taken. She is diagnosed with a dislocation but the doctor fails to detect a fracture apparent on the image. By the time it is diagnosed, surgical intervention is necessary and she now suffers from a permanent disability in her arm.
- Lambert v. Frederick Memorial Hospital (filed March 13, 2019) – A woman is diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and kidney stone that is obstructing her ureter. Her condition does not improve and cultures are taken that reveal the infection is E. coli. She is prescribed an antibiotic and undergoes a stent placement and then surgical removal of the stone. Despite this, she increasingly becomes sicker and is diagnosed with septic shock due to E. coli. She suffers from intravasurenal failure and digits loss due to gangrene. It turns out that she was prescribed antibiotics that the infection was resistant to, meaning the infection had never been adequately or completely treated.
- Sims v. Prince George’s Hospital (filed March 13, 2019) – After having surgery a woman is found to be hypoxic requiring high flow oxygen placement. Her condition continues to deteriorate but the doctors are unable to determine its etiology. Despite her worsening condition, the hospital fails to timely transfer her to a level one trauma center. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is recommended, however, the doctor incorrectly places her on ECMO. ECMO is restarted but her condition remains critical and she readily declines until she passes away soon after.
- Moore v. Anonymous Doctor (filed March 14, 2019) – A woman attempted to bring this claim pro se after having sinus surgery that left her with the inability to smell or taste. Currently, the case is being contemplated for dismissal for lack of prosecution.
- Chetelat v. Anonymous Doctor (filed March 15, 2019) – A man has a right nasal obstruction with no other complaints, however, his doctor tells him he needs sinus and septal surgery. After the surgery, he experiences pressure, pain, and swelling behind his right eye and eventually develops double vision. He seeks out a second opinion and learns the surgery was both unnecessary and performed incorrectly. He now requires corrective surgery.
- Wachter v. Anonymous Doctor (filed March 15, 2019) – For roughly two years, a woman experiences foot pain and her doctor gives her 10 steroid injections, despite them all having failed and without taking x-rays. These injections cause two digits in her foot to dislocate requiring surgery to fix it. The doctor attempts but fails to correct it surgically. She now requires complex surgery to repair her foot.
- Miller v. Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children (filed March 15, 2019) – An autistic young man is in an adult day program facility where an employee uses an illegal aversive behavioral restraint. As a result, his right arm is fractured. His arm is surgically repaired and he now suffers permanent disability.
- Curry v. St. Agnes Hospital (filed March 18, 2019) – A spinal surgery patient develops pain, numbness, discomfort, and inability to stand and straighten her spine immediately after surgery. She is released to a rehab facility with no instructions for proper drainage of the wound or rehab following the surgery. She ultimately has to seek substantial treatment for a wound infection as well as revision surgery.
- Workcuff v. Dimensions Health Corporation (filed March 18, 2019) – A woman who has just undergone a cardiac catheterization is increasingly restless and experiencing severe back pain. Additionally, her heart becomes elevated and her blood pressure is low, however, nothing is done. She goes into hemorrhagic shock and emergency surgery is performed but it is too late and she sadly passes away.
- Petrilli v. Shady Grove Adventist Hospital (filed March 18, 2019) – Following a femoral thrombectomy and embolectomy, a woman’s post-operative condition is not properly monitored and she suffers an above the knee amputation.
- Lawrence v. Montgomery General Hospital (filed March 19, 2019) – A four-year-old girl has flu-like symptoms that worsen and her parents take her to the emergency room. She has chest pain, vomiting, fever, a cough, and rhinorrhea. The doctor, without performing any tests, diagnoses her with influenza and musculoskeletal chest pain and sends her home. Three days later she returns and codes and despite resuscitation efforts she dies. An autopsy reveals her death was caused by acute bacterial pneumonia complicating an influenza infection.
- McCarthy v. Centers for Advanced ENT Care (filed March 19, 2019) – A man is diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma on his left cheek and needs to surgery to remove it. A year later he develops a mass on his neck that is determined by a CT scan to be cancerous. It needs to be surgically removed, and in doing so the mass should not be broken open to prevent cancerous cells from being released, however, the surgeon fails to do so and does not remove it in one piece. He still has squamous cell carcinoma as a result and his treatment is ongoing.
- Fleck v. Eastern Shore Oncology (filed March 20, 2019) – A cancer patient currently undergoing chemotherapy becomes increasingly sick and showing signs of infection. Laboratory tests indicate an infection is present, however, antibiotic treatment is not given. By the time it is, she is has become septic and despite treatment passes away.
- Holden v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed March 20, 2019) – A woman undergoes heart surgery where the surgeon makes a mistake. In correcting the mistake, he uses sutures and ultimately occludes one of her arteries completely blocking it. Additional surgery is needed to repair the mistake but her condition continuously spirals downward and she eventually passes away.
- Heyman v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed March 21, 2019) – A woman is undergoing a laparoscopic nephrectomy and suffers a diaphragmatic injury and duodenal perforation. These injuries are repaired, however, during her postoperative care, she develops acute renal failure and hyperkalemia. Emergency exploratory surgery is performed that reveals a second duodenal perforation that must be repaired. She requires lengthy follow-up treatment and care and suffers an abdominal wall infection.
- Stepney v. Anonymous Doctor (filed March 21, 2019) – From 2006 to 2017, a woman’s primary care doctor only provides her once, in 2013, with a colorectal cancer screening. During this time, by 2017 she had lost nearly 40 pounds. She goes to the emergency department with abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting and learns she has colon cancer. She has had a surgical resection as well as other treatments and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.
- Hawkes v. Anonymous Doctor (filed March 21, 2019) – A pregnant woman has a history of a shortened cervix in a previous pregnancy, however, no precautionary measures are taken and she is not provided with progesterone therapy in time. She develops a shortened cervix and suffers preterm, premature rupture of membranes at 24-1/7 week’s gestation. The baby is born and suffers a massive brain injury.
- Robinson v. Anonymous Doctor (filed March 21, 2019) – A woman is taking oxycodone and methadone for lumbar pain and is additionally prescribed clonazepam, which is known to cause CNS depression when combined with other opioids. Despite there being a black box warning of these risks, she is still given the prescription and dies after taking it and an autopsy confirms she died from “mixed drug intoxication.”
- Miller v. St. Mary’s Hospital (filed March 21, 2019) – A man undergoes two facial surgeries for what is thought to be a cyst. His condition does not improve and it is finally determined that he is suffering from a sinus tumor. He has had to and continues to require surgery and other care as a result of the delayed diagnosis.
- Johnson v. Anne Arundel Health System (filed March 22, 2019) – At almost 27 weeks pregnant, a woman with a history of preeclampsia presents the emergency department with ruptured membranes. The doctor incorrectly concludes that her membranes have not ruptured and discharge her without even performing an ultrasound. She returns the next morning and ultrasound is performed that confirms her membranes did rupture. She suffers a prolapsed cord and has to have an emergency C-section. Additionally, pathology reveals both chorioamnionitis and funisitis. The child now suffers from quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, and epilepsy.
- Nader v. Maryland Neighborly Networks (filed March 22, 2019) – A disabled man lives in a group home and requires one-on-one supervision while awake. He lives with another disabled man who requires one-on-one supervision at all hours, whether awake or not. His roommate’s supervisor left before her relief showed up and he was found with a swollen bloody eye. He is taken to the emergency department on two occasions where scans reveal he has fractures on both of his shoulders and a compression fracture of his spine requiring surgery. He can no longer walk and it is believed his roommate assaulted him while unsupervised.
- Alhaeri v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed March 22, 2019) – A quadriplegia who is wheelchair-bound and requires 24/7 care was admitted to the hospital for a spinal cyst. He was given medication while lying flat and the pills lodged in his airway. He was unresponsive and had to be intubated. During that time, he was not properly cared for and developed an eight-centimeter deep pressure ulcer. He now suffers permanent cognitive impairment and memory loss and has had to have numerous surgical interventions.
- Sneed v. Good Samaritan Hospital (filed March 25, 2019) – A woman recovering from ankle surgery is at high risk for DVT. Her doctor prescribes her an anticoagulant, however, she starts showing clear signs of DVT but the medical staff fails to do anything. She is discharged with no prescription to continue anticoagulants and her condition quickly worsens forcing her to go to the emergency department. There she is treated for multiple blood clots but now has permanent lung damage.
- Proctor v. Old Washington Highway Operation (filed March 25, 2019) – A 79-year-old nursing home patient is a high fall risk and requires assistance transferring from her bed to her wheelchair. A nurse his helping her when he is dropped from a Hoyer lift. The incident is not reported right away and when imaging is taken, she has a fractured coccyx and a dislocated shoulder. She is not a surgical candidate given her health and must live with the pain.
- Young v. Westgate Hills Operator (filed March 25, 2019) – An elderly man in a skilled nursing facility becomes increasingly sick and pneumonia is suspected, however, no care plan is initiated. His condition continues to worsen until he goes into cardiac arrest and dies. The cause of death was septic shock.
- Brown v. Genesis Healthcare (filed March 25, 2019) – An elderly woman dependent for nearly all activities of daily living is admitted into a skilled nursing facility where they are aware of her high risk of developing pressure ulcers. She is not properly cared for and develops severe ulcers that go untreated and ultimately turn septic causing her death.
- Slacum v. Shore Radiology (filed March 25, 2019) – A man is suffering from a bowel perforation, however, his doctors fail to detect it despite it being clear on radiological scans. His condition goes untreated for some time until the perforation is diagnosed and he undergoes an extensive bowel resection. He suffered a serious fungal infection as a result and has yet to fully recover from the misdiagnosed perforation.
- Arthur v. Manor Care (filed March 25, 2019) – This case involves an elderly woman at a nursing facility who developed a bladder infection and necrotic pressure ulcer that both went untreated. She ultimately died. This case was settled and dismissed.
- McNeal v. Manor Care (filed March 25, 2019) – An elderly woman living in a nursing facility is a known fall risk and requires two people to help her in and out of bed. While only being attended by one staff member, she falls out of bed and factures both of her femurs.
- Almonte v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed March 25, 2019) – A three-month-old baby has severe acid reflux and at the time his mother is told that a Nissen Fundoplication surgery is necessary. The procedure is performed, however, a mistake is made and he can no longer swallow. For the next nine years, he stays in this state until his mother learns the Nissen can be undone. The procedure is performed and he can now swallow, however, he is significantly under-developed due to malnutrition for the past near-decade and suffers long-term consequences from the surgical mistake.
- Radding v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed March 22, 2019) – A man alleges that doctors falsified his medical records with inaccurate statements claiming he was seeking opiates due to a controlled substance abuse problem. He now has difficulties seeking care.
- Glover v. Anonymous Doctor (filed March 26, 2019) – A woman needs a hip replacement due to having left hip avascular necrosis. The surgeon performs a left un-cemented bipolar hip replacement. She develops a couple of infections that have to be cleaned out and the hip replacement ultimately fails. She then has to have a total hip replacement. This case was ultimately dismissed.
- Kennard v. St. Joseph Medical Center (filed March 27, 2019) – A man has a prostatectomy to treat prostate cancer and in the years following his prostate-specific antigen levels are followed, a marker of prostate cancer. For the next 4 years, his levels increase but nothing is done. Finally, a CT scan is done that reveals metastatic cancer. He has now had to undergo extensive medical treatment that could have been prevented.
- Flynn v. St. Joseph Medical Center (filed March 28, 2019) – A man with severe diabetes mellitus has one of his legs amputated due to a non-healing infection. A month later he presents to the emergency department with a foot infection that is found to be necrotic, however, despite being prescribed medication no debridement of the wound is attempted until 11 hours after his arrival. The infection is too advanced and causes him to become septic. He dies of cardiac arrest.
- Richardson v. Prince George’s County Hospital Center (filed March 28, 2019) – A man is fraudulently practicing medicine as an OB/GYN, however, he has never obtained a medical degree and is not licensed. He delivers a baby in fetal distress that should have been delivered by C-section. The baby now suffers from developmental delays and impairments.
- Bahrami v. Anonymous Dentist (filed March 29, 2019) – A dentist improperly installs implants by failing to ensure and place them in a position with adequate supporting bone. As a result, the patient is forced to have them removed and obtain further dental work.
- Davis v. Suburban Hospital (filed March 29, 2019) – This case was ultimately dismissed, however, the plaintiff claimed that a doctor who amputated his leg breached the standard of care by not advising him of or considering other procedures first. He could not find a lawyer to take his case.
- Boughner v. Mercy Medical Center (filed March 29, 2019) – A man becomes weak, dizzy, and passes out. He goes to the emergency department and now additionally has severe back and upper abdominal pain as well as low blood pressure. An EKG is taken that comes back normal and the doctors’ focus on his abdominal pain diagnosing him with blood in his abdominal cavity, however, the cause is unknown. He dies of cardiac arrest and the medical examiner determines he had an aortic dissection, which the doctors failed to consider.
