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Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Filed in October 2019
- Justice v. CalvertHealth System (filed October 2, 2019) – A patient presents to the emergency room complaining of nausea, vomiting, emesis, and loose stools. The patient is diagnosed with gastroenteritis and dehydration and then discharged. They return three days later, and abdominal imaging is performed that reveals an intussusception. Due to this delayed diagnosis, the patient underwent surgery and subsequently suffered postoperative necrotizing fasciitis, fistula formations, a small bow resection, a gastrostomy placement, and home total parenteral nutrition.
- Poltoratzky v. Sunrise Senior Living (filed October 2, 2019) – This case involves a nursing home resident who was wheelchair bound. While being transferred to a dentist appointment by a staff member, her wheelchair tipped over as a result of the wheelchair being inappropriately secured in the vehicle. Sadly, she suffered serious bodily injuries resulting in her death.
- Markland v. Right at Home (filed October 3, 2019) – An immobile patient develops a severe pressure ulcer while under the care of an in-home nursing care service. The ulcer goes untreated causing her to develop a serious infection and sepsis. She undergoes multiple attempts at treatment, however, she is unable to recover and passes away.
- McDonald v. Podiatrist (filed October 3, 2019) – A podiatric surgeon performs two inappropriate surgical procedures on a patient’s foot. In doing so, the surgeon causes the patient to suffer permanent nerve injuries in his foot. The patient was forced to undergo additional procedures that have not fully corrected his injuries. Since then, there have additionally been discrepancies found in his medical record by the first surgeon.
- Grubb v. MyEyeDr. (filed October 3, 2019) – A patient attempts to get his eyeglass prescription filled, however, unbeknownst to him he is given the wrong prescription. He develops amblyopia OS, or lazy eye, as a result of using the incorrect prescription and eventually loses vision in that eye.
- Simpson v. University of Maryland Medical Center (filed October 3, 2019) – A 56-year-old man presents to the emergency room with sepsis secondary to a dental abscess. He has two teeth extracted, the abscess drained, and a tracheostomy placed to manage his airway. Over the next few days, he has several bleeding episodes. A life-threatening bleed, such as an arterial or tracheal bleed, is not considered as a cause. Eventually, an arterial and tracheal bleed are diagnosed but by the time they are treated, he had suffered an anoxic brain injury. He was unable to recover and passed away soon after.
- Kleinberg v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed October 3, 2019) – A recently discharged psychiatric patient is admitted to the hospital due to suicidal tendencies. He showed clear signs of suicidal ideation, however, consistent observation was not provided for him and he was found hanging in his room. He survived his suicide attempt but suffered an anoxic brain injury. He is now permanently disabled.
- Tilghman v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed October 3, 2019) – A 14-year-old boy presents to the emergency department with a pilonidal cyst. He shows signs of infection; however, proper tests are not performed, and he is discharged home with medication and asked to return in a week. Upon his return, cultures are taken, and he is diagnosed with a MRSA and E. coli infection. He has remained hospitalized since February of 2019 with an open wound.
- Bergstrom v. The Centers for Advance Orthopedics (filed October 4, 2019) – A surgeon uses the incorrect size implants when performing a knuckle implant procedure and during recovery, the patient’s cast is left on too long further exacerbating her injuries. The patient has corrective surgery where the implants are replaced with new ones, as well as other procedures, but these attempts do not work.
- She also suffers additional injuries due to the disuse of her arm and hand. To date, she is unable to use her hand to complete ordinary daily activities.
- Guinyard v. University of Maryland Medical System (filed October 4, 2019) – After having a successful decompressive laminectomy, a patient suffers several postoperative complications that are not properly cared for, including sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction, eventually causing her death.
- Forte v. Union Memorial Hospital (filed October 4, 2019) – A woman with limited mobility presents to the hospital for a mammogram. While there, she is not provided with assistance and falls and fractures her pelvis.
- Taylor v. Harford Memorial Hospital (filed October 4, 2019) – A hospital fails to properly care for and treat a 57-year-old patient with acute interstitial pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. As his condition worsened, he was not intubated quickly enough and when he was, it was unsuccessful. As a result, he suffered prolonged periods of hypoxia and ultimately a permanent hypoxic brain injury. He now resides in a long-term care facility and is unable to walk, talk, feed, or care for himself.
- Simmons v. Holy Cross Hospital (filed October 7, 2019) – A woman undergoes a parathyroidectomy surgery to correct a hyperthyroid condition. During the procedure, her vocal cords are injured. Her vocal cords are now permanently paralyzed, and she can no longer speak.
- Welcher v. Corizon Health (filed October 11, 2019) – A prison inmate injures his hand and needs an operation, followed by physical therapy, and then a second operation. He has had the first operation but has been denied physical therapy and the second operation. As a result, his hand is now permanently damaged.
- Sarfarazi v. Dentist (filed October 7, 2019) – A dentist improperly places a dental implant in the patient’s mouth causing the patient to have to undergo additional procedures and develop infection.
- Meserole v. Anne Arundel Medical Group (filed October 7, 2019) – A surgeon uses incorrectly sized hardware while performing a hip replacement and fails to detect a femur fracture in the patient after the surgery. After physical therapy has not improved her ability to place weight on her leg, further testing is done that reveals the mistake in hardware and fracture. She then must undergo non-weight bearing therapy and eventually a corrective surgery. These mistakes have resulted in a less than optimal outcome for her.
- Raikin v. Hebrew Home of Greater Washington (filed October 8, 2019) – A long-term care resident who was a high fall risk fell from the side of a bed while being cleaned by a nurse. She sustained head injuries from the fall and soon after went into respiratory distress and died. The claimants allege the nursing home attempted to cover up the cause of death up by claiming she died from natural causes on the death certificate, prepared by the doctor employed at the facility.
- Thompson v. Dentist (filed October 10, 2019) – This case involves a claimant representing himself pro se. He alleges he paid for a permanent porcelain bridge, however, unbeknownst to him he instead received a bridge abutment of acrylic teeth. He did not learn of this until the bridge failed. He attempted to have the work redone correctly but developed an infection that rendered his teeth no longer able to support a permanent bridge. He now can only have a partial bridge and has not been refunded for the money he paid for the permanent porcelain bridge he did not receive.
- Shiheed v. Doctor (filed October 10, 2019) – This claim involves a man representing himself pro se claiming his doctors breached the standard of care by failing to provide him with medication for his chronic hand pain and by failing to fix pins that he claims are protruding from his hand that were surgically placed years back.
- Bowie v. MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital (filed October 11, 2019) – A plumber undergoes foot reconstruction surgery with the expectation of being able to return to work after physical therapy. During therapy, he experiences continuing and worsening pain that he makes his therapist aware of, however, therapy continues. He consults with his podiatrist about the pain and x-rays are taken that reveal a screw from his surgery had fractured. Ultimately, he is forced to retire due to the disabling pain from the facture.
- Longus v. Genesis Healthcare (filed October 8, 2019) – A nursing home patient is dropped by staff and complains of head and neck pain; however, no further care is provided to her. Two days later she is found unresponsive and sent to a local hospital where she passes away. The claimants allege that her death was proximately caused by an injury she sustained from being dropped two days earlier.
- Manzoor v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed October 11, 2019) – A woman with Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease presents to the hospital for coronary angiography. Her disease causes her to suffer severe allergic reactions including respiratory distress and anaphylactic shock when exposed to acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), an ingredient found in aspirin. Despite this being documented in her medical record, she is given ASA before the procedure. Her reaction was so severe she went into cardiac arrest and anaphylactic shock. Luckily, doctors were able to save her, but she suffered permanent injuries and endured a 29-day hospitalization.
- Brown v. ATI Physical Therapy (filed October 11, 2019) – After being diagnosed with vertigo, a woman begins physical therapy for balance and strength training. During a session, the therapist asked her to close her eyes while standing. In doing so, she lost her balance and fell straight backwards, however, there was no one or anything there to catch her. She suffered a wedge compression fracture of the second lumbar vertebrae as a result.
- Michael v. Fresenius Kidney Care (filed October 15, 2019) – A woman with end-stage renal disease suffers multiple bleeding episodes at the AV site during dialysis treatments. She makes her providers aware of these, however, no intervention is ever provided. At her last treatment, there was an abnormal amount of blood on the bandage at the AV site. The providers determined she was fine and discharged her. The following morning, her husband found her dead, in bed lying in a pool of blood.
- Biggs v. Harbor Hospital (filed October 15, 2019) – A hospital fails to properly monitor a newborn baby and timely detect and treat oxygen desaturations. As a result, he suffers hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and an anoxic brain injury. He is now 12-years-old and has cerebral palsy, global developmental delay, spasticity, a seizure disorder, and is permanently wheelchair and bed bound.
- Fitzgerald v. Patapsco Valley Center (filed October 15, 2019) – An immobile patient suffers multiple acts of negligence at the hands of a nursing home that his family files complaints for with the facility. Despite these complaints, his care does not improve. He additionally develops a pressure ulcer that the facility fails to properly care for. The family gets outside treatment for him, however, the facility fails to follow their instructions for his wound care. He develops additional ulcers and his condition continues to deteriorate until he develops sepsis and sadly passes away.
- Khoury v. Retina Group of Washington (filed October 15, 2019) – A patient informs his eye doctor he has glaucoma; however, he is never provided treatment for it. After his vision deteriorates significantly, he seeks a second opinion and learns of a surgical procedure that is necessary and can improve his vision. He has the procedure done, however, because it is performed so late, he only receives minimal improvements. Had it been done earlier, he would have been able to maintain most of his vision.
- Hopkins v. Doctor (filed October 15, 2019) – A patient with significant neurological symptoms sees a neurosurgeon. The doctor reviews scans that were taken, however, despite them not being fully clear and visible diagnoses her with a colloid cyst and she is provided conservative treatment. Her condition does not improve, and no further treatment is provided. She seeks three additional opinions all of which determine the initial diagnosis was incorrect and diagnose her with a Chiari Malformation and cervical instability. Because of the delayed and incorrect diagnosis, she has undergone multiple invasive surgeries and treatments that could have been avoided.
- Watson v. Greater Baltimore Medical Center (filed October 15, 2019) – A man presents to the emergency department demonstrating signs of a serious bacterial infection, however, a complete sepsis work-up is not performed. The doctor orders basic tests and diagnoses him with an unspecified viral infection, followed by discharge. His condition only worsens, and he goes to another emergency department where he is diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, sepsis, acute kidney injury, acute hyponatremia, metabolic acidosis, and lactic acidosis. Because of the misdiagnosis, his condition had advanced to the point of being untreatable and despite best efforts, he passed away.
- Shady Grove Medical Center v. Doctors (filed October 15, 2019) – This case involves a third-party indemnification claim by a hospital against the doctors involved in a lawsuit filed in May of 2019, claim 242. The case involved an elderly patient who had a history of nausea and current vomiting who suffered a massive aspiration causing him to go into cardiopulmonary arrest and die while under the care of doctors working there.
- Worch v. University of Maryland Prince George’s Hospital Center (filed October 16, 2019) – This case involves a patient who showed signs of an obstruction in their Foley catheter. Despite this, health care providers failed to examine or reassess the catheter for the following 24 hours. The patient developed urosepsis, shock, and organ failure and was unable to recover. Sadly, he passed away.
- Hasenei v. Sinai Hospital (filed October 16, 2019) – A husband finds is wife incoherent in the morning and she is rushed to the emergency room. A CT scan reveals she suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Further testing and surgical testing were delayed and her aneurysm re-ruptured causing extensive brain damage. Treatment was attempted but it was too late and she passed away.
- Moorhead v. University of Maryland Medical Center (filed October 16, 2019) – While in postoperative care, a patient suffers a severe platelet drop that is not detected and blood thinners are not discontinued. As a result, she develops heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with deep venous thrombosis in her right femoral vein as well as compartment syndrome in her right leg. Ultimately, her right leg is amputated.
- Stewart v. University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center (filed October 17, 2019) – While in postoperative care following a total knee replacement, a patient develops an arterial occlusion that is not timely detected and treated. Ultimately, she is forced to have her leg amputated.
- Levine v. Brightview Senior Living (filed October 17, 2019) – An 89-year-old nursing home patient suffers multiple falls until a plan is put in place for her. The plan, however, is never actually implemented. Her daughter finds her in excruciating pain with abrasions on her face and arm. She is transferred to the emergency department where she is diagnosed with a displaced neck fracture and a pelvic fracture. Doctors determine these injuries could only have resulted from a fall, although one was never documented by the nursing home. She undergoes surgery to fix her injuries, however, she has been unable to walk since.
- Alfaro v. Holy Cross Germantown Hospital (filed October 17, 2019) – Despite there being clear and ongoing signs of chorioamnionitis, doctors fail to timely diagnosis it. As a result, both the mother and child suffer permanent physical and neurological injuries.
- Marasco v. Maryland Endodontic Group (filed October 18, 2019) – A dentist performs a root canal on the wrong tooth and leaves a piece of a broken file in the canal causing the patient immense pain and having to undergo additional procedures.
- Bachtell v. Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group (filed October 18, 2019) – A patient with Chron’s Disease develops peri anal disease that causes a serious peri anal infection to develop that is not timely diagnosed or treated. The infection causes significant destruction of tissue and necrosis and he is forced to undergo multiple extensive surgeries.
- Kettler v. Dentist (filed October 21, 2019) – This case involves a dentist who improperly performed a full mouth restoration on a patient. Following the restoration, the dentist performs further unnecessary treatments without proper informed consent and charges her for work that was never performed.
- Brown v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed October 22, 2019) – A C-section is performed for a woman who is determined to have a high-risk pregnancy. She suffers a colon perforation that is not detected post-operatively in a timely manner despite there being clear signs and symptoms. She develops sepsis and peritonitis and requires extensive surgery to fix her condition. She suffers permanent injuries and is at enhanced risk to develop future complications.
- Taylor v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States (filed October 22, 2019) – A woman has abnormalities in her breast and an ultrasound is performed that indicates breast tissue abnormalities, however, no further testing is performed, and she is told to return in two years. Upon her return two years later, she is ultimately diagnosed with cancer that was apparent two years earlier but now is likely incurable.
- Winborn v. Baltimore Washington Medical Center (filed October 22, 2019) – A full-term pregnant woman arrives at the hospital with contractions. Initial testing indicates the baby is fine, but while she is there signs of fetal distress become apparent. The doctors inappropriately decide to wait in effort for a natural, vaginal delivery. This decision resulted in the baby suffering permanent brain injuries.
- Simmons v. Prince George’s Hospital Center (filed October 22, 2019) – While in the emergency department, a patient’s family informs staff that he has difficulty swallowing due to dysphasia from laryngeal cancer he had 40 years ago. Despite this, he is given a normal tray of food and is not monitored while he eats it. After having eaten, his son arrives and notices he is in respiratory distress. The doctors attempt to suction food from his mouth, but he codes, and resuscitation efforts fail. Sadly, he passes away.
- Salazar v. Elain Ellis Center of Health (filed October 22, 2019) – A woman is diagnosed with a foreign body in her ear and is instructed to see an ENT specialist. Because of her insurance, she must get a referral from her primary care physician. The physician rather than refer her performs a procedure to remove the foreign body. She experiences immense pain and bloody discharge that the physician tells her is normal but does not improve. After two more visits the physician finally provides her with a referral to an ENT who determines the physician perforated her ear drum when attempting to remove the foreign body. She undergoes surgery to repair it but suffers permanent partial hearing loss.
- Baker v. Carroll Hospital Center (filed October 22, 2019) – Doctors fail to timely diagnose preeclampsia in a patient. As a result, a necessary C-section is not performed in time and the baby suffers permanent brain injuries.
- Palmer v. Doctors Community Hospital (filed October 22, 2019) – A surgeon uses hardware inappropriate for a patient due to her size and anatomy while performing back surgery. Her problems before the operation do not improve, but rather worsen. The surgeon attempts to remove the hardware to improve her pain, but that also fails. She now has permanent and irreversible disabilities and pain.
- Burgess v. Dentist (filed October 23, 2019) – A dentist injures a patient’s inferior alveolar nerve while removing a dental implant leaving the patient with permanent nerve damage.
- Connelly v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed October 23, 2019) – A surgeon inappropriately recommends and performs a high-risk surgery on a patient for a pancreatic mass before confirming it was cancer. The patient develops serious complications postoperatively and passes away. The mass turned out to not be cancerous, but rather benign.
- Vaughn v. Kozy Kottage Assisted Living (filed October 23, 2019) – A nursing home fails to implement enough preventative fire measures to protect its residents. As a result, a resident is badly burned by a fire and dies.
- EllaBany v. Johns Hopkins Hospital (filed October 23, 2019) – A neurologist fails to consider the spine when treating a very young pediatric patient for motor developmental delays, specifically in her lower extremities. As a result, she has a mediastinal neuroblastoma in her spine that is not timely diagnosed. Surgical intervention is attempted once a diagnosis is made, but she now has permanent dysfunction in her lower extremities.
- Dubose v. Futurecare Courtland (filed October 24, 2019) – A patient is admitted to a skilled nursing facility after a recent inpatient hospitalization and placement of a feeding tube. The tube becomes dislodged and was reinserted by staff. The following morning the patient was found unresponsive and taken to the emergency department. CT imaging indicated the feeding tube was no longer in his stomach and had dislodged again or was reinserted incorrectly. At this point he was in septic shock caused by the reintroduction of the tube and due to his grave condition, comfort care is his only option. He passed away soon after.
- Cohan v. Dentist (filed October 28, 2019) – A dentist improperly performs a bleaching procedure on a patient’s tooth and installs crowns that do not fit her mouth properly. The patient now must have additional procedures.
- Adegboyo v. Howard County General Hospital (filed October 28, 2019) – Doctors and nurses fail to timely diagnose and treat a woman pregnant with twins who is showing clear signs of preeclampsia. As a result, both children now have permanent and significant neurological injuries.
- Garrett v. Mercy Medical Center (filed October 28, 2019) – An 83-year-old woman is admitted to the hospital with aspiration pneumonia and is assessed as a high fall risk. Despite this, preventative measures are not properly taken or implemented. She suffers a devastating fall resulting in a fractured hip. Her only chance at any quality of life is a high-risk surgery or she will not be able to walk again. The surgery is successful, but she sadly passes away after.
- Ifill v. Maryland Cariology Associates (filed October 28, 2019) – A doctor performs an unnecessary angioplasty procedure on a patient’s leg and injures a vessel in doing so. She suffers multiple complications from this as well as having to undergo several surgical procedures. Ultimately, she must have an amputation.
- Qiao v. Doctor (filed October 28, 2019) – A doctor fails to diagnose a patient’s ovarian cancer despite her showing signs and symptoms. The patient is eventually diagnosed with Stage IIIb ovarian cancer and must undergo chemotherapy and radiation.
- Nwoko v. Greater Baltimore Medical Center (filed October 29, 2019) – Despite having extremely high glucose levels in the 500’s, a pregnant woman is not diagnosed with maternal diabetes. As a result, the baby is tragically born deceased. The mother is not diagnosed with maternal diabetes until after the delivery.
- Smith v. Chase Brexton Health Care (filed October 29, 2019) – A woman has an IUD placed that is not properly inserted and monitored. As a result, it becomes dislodged and travels to her abdomen. She undergoes surgery to have it removed and discharged the same day. She develops numerous postoperative complications including sepsis, necrosis of her toes, and necrosis of her ovaries. She suffered serious injuries including, among others, having some of her toes amputated and losing both her uterus and ovaries.
- Kohnle v. Oak Crest Village (filed October 30, 2019) – A resident documented as a fall risk is not properly supervised and suffers a fall fracturing her hip and pubic rami. She is forced to enter hospice care and sadly passes away soon after.
- Cross v. Future Care Irvington (filed October 30, 2019) – A nursing home fails to properly care for a patient showing signs suspicious for a bowel obstruction. She dies from septic shock as a result of the obstruction.
- Mayes v. SSC Glen Burnie Operating Company (filed October 30, 2019) – A woman is admitted into a rehab facility following colon surgery. While there, she develops pressure ulcers, lymphedema, and cellulitis that are not timely identified or treated. She develops sepsis as a result and passes away.
- Ethridge v. Genesis Severna Park Center (filed October 30, 2019) – After suffering a heart attack and stroke, a woman is admitted to a long-term care facility and deemed a high fall risk. While an employee was transferring her, she suffered a fall that caused her to fracture her pelvis, tibia, and fibula. She passed away five days later.
- McKnight v. Harbor Hospital (filed October 31, 2019) – This case involves a wrongful death claim for a patient who was not properly monitored post-operatively. The patient became hypoxic and hypotensive causing myocardial ischemia. This was not recognized quickly enough, and he suffered a spinal cord stroke and watershed stroke causing his death.
- Jeter v. Anne Arundel Medical Center (filed October 31, 2019) – Despite signs of fetal distress, a C-section is not emergently performed. As a result, the baby suffers a brain injury and now has cerebral palsy, among other injuries.
- DeKroney v. Mercy Health Services (filed October 31, 2019) – A doctor decides to deliver a 30-week old baby by emergency C-section because he suspected a placental abruption, despite there being no findings consistent with that diagnosis. The baby was delivered before having a complete course of betamethasone for lung maturity and as a result, suffered respiratory distress syndrome, respiratory failure, grade IV intraventricular hemorrhage, and periventricular leukomalacia. He now suffers from cerebral palsy.
- Dinsmore v. Johns Hopkins Regional Physicians (filed October 31, 2019) – A 67-year-old man has abnormalities in his mouth known as lichen planus. These abnormalities if untreated can lead to cancer. His doctor proposes a biopsy if his mouth does not improve from steroid treatment, however, one is never performed until he also has lumps in his neck. He is diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma that has metastasized to his neck and lung. His cancer carries only a five-year survival rate of roughly 25%.
