Immediately after the surgery, the man began experiencing complications. After one attempt to repair the heart after the other, the man left with a new heart but also extensive brain damage. He is now no longer able to walk or talk.

According to the complaint, the man’s doctors did not respond quickly enough to post-surgical complications. This led to a lack of blood flow to his brain resulting in the consequent damage.

This Man is not the Only Patient to Receive a Low Standard of Care at St. Luke’s

St. Luke’s was purchased in 2013 by Catholic Health Initiatives, a non-profit hospital chain. Since then, the standard of care has rapidly dwindled. The program, once renowned in the field of heart surgery, lost several key physicians.

After losing three patients in the first 5 months of 2018, St. Luke’s has voluntarily suspended its heart transplant program. By June 15th, however, the hospital had made key changed to its transplant program and was ready to go back in business. Due in large part to a lack of confidence in the hospital, Medicare and Medicaid announced that they would suspend reimbursements for heart transplants to St. Luke’s.

The Case against the Plaintiff

The hospital maintained that its surgical problems were relegated to 2015 when 21 patients died. The man received his surgery in 2016. Hence the hospital’s defense is: “we didn’t kill that many people that year.” That’s not exactly a winner in most courtrooms. That is especially true considering the fact that were, in fact, a number of patients who suffered complications that year.

While the man is still alive, his quality of life has been greatly reduced by a simple mistake and a lapse in the basic standard of care that the majority of doctors would offer their patients.

The man is not alone in suffering these kinds of symptoms. Many of St. Luke’s patients suffered serious strokes. Several of them died as a result. This man did not. That does not, however, constitute an endorsement of the quality of work that St. Luke’s performed in 2016.

The Case against St. Luke’s

Statistically, St. Luke’s program has generated some of the worst outcomes of any heart transplant hospital in the country and now ranks near the bottom nationally. This must be a tough blow to a center that prided itself on being among the most renowned in the world. Nonetheless, St. Luke’s loses twice as many patients as the national average.

Because of this, not only could the physician who performed the surgery be held liable for medical malpractice, but so could a hospital that failed to act on an increasing number of negative outcomes under his leadership.

Have You Been Injured by Medical Negligence?

If so, the Miami personal injury attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. of Miami can help you get compensation for your injuries. Give us a call at (305) 371-3111 or contact us online for a free consultation.

Resources:

propublica.org/article/baylor-st-lukes-hospital-heart-transplant-brain-damage-lawsuit

documentcloud.org/documents/4572595-Jackson-Lawsuit.html

Her attending doctor, a rheumatologist of Holy Cross Hospital in Broward County, failed to properly diagnose ulcerations in the woman’s feet. The doctor waited a week before transferring the woman to the University of Miami Hospital. But by then it was too late. The tissue in her feet and toes had necrotized. In other words, the tissue died.

Proving Medical Negligence

Statistically, the majority of medical malpractice lawsuits arise from misdiagnosis cases.

In a lawsuit such as this, the plaintiff’s job is to prove that the doctor failed an agreed upon standard of care. In other words, they must show that the defendant neglected to do something that a reasonable doctor would have under the same circumstances.

That injuries result from an adverse medical outcome is not enough to prove malpractice. Even if the injuries suffered by the plaintiff are egregious and life-altering, the plaintiff’s attorney must be able to prove that the doctor failed in some way to offer their patient a reasonable standard of care.

In this case, the patient was admitted to Holy Cross Hospital in 2008 complaining of pain in her hands and ulcerations in her toes and feet. These are common symptoms in those who suffer from vasculitis. Vasculitis is an inflammation of the blood vessels. If left untreated, vasculitis can cause serious damage to organs. It is typically treated with immunosuppressants like steroids. In this woman’s case, the disease was allowed to progress to the extent that caused cell death in her fingers and toes. The only thing that doctors could do for her at that point was to remove the dead tissue.

When the woman arrived at the hospital, she was near death. Nine of her toes and a part of her foot had to be amputated. She also lost her right thumb and the tips of two fingers that had turned black from gangrene.

She was not only disfigured as a result of the doctor’s negligence, but she is left permanently impaired as well. The woman now requires the use of prosthetic devices to help her walk. She can only stand for 30 minutes at a time.

In cases like these, plaintiffs are customarily awarded heavily for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of earning capacity, inability to enjoy their lives, inability to do household chores, and future medical expenses.

The woman was award $5 million for medical costs, $900,000 for lost wages, and $10 million for pain and suffering.

Have You been the Victim of Medical Malpractice?

If so, the attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. in Miami can help you get compensation for your injuries. Give us a call at (305) 371-3111 or contact us online. We can begin preparing your case right away.

Resources:

miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article184004651.html

modernhealthcare.com/article/20180313/NEWS/180319965

One woman who went in for treatments for her macular degeneration had her own fat cells injected into her eye. Within a week of the procedure, her left eye began to detach, then her right eye went. Now, after several surgeries that attempted to undo the damage, the woman is blind, can no longer read, or see the faces of her own grandchildren. She has filed a lawsuit against the center alleging negligence.

Most People are Unaware the Treatment is Unproven and Untested

Stem cells are notable for their ability to regenerate or to become any kind of cell. It is widely believed that eventually, medical science will hone stem cell therapy in order to regrow damaged tissue. At the same time, medical science has not quite figured out how to use the healing power of stem cells in order to treat conditions such as macular degeneration. Yet stem-cell clinics are touting their treatments as a revolutionary form of therapy. They are neither warning their patients about the possible dangers nor informing their patients that the treatment is not approved by the FDA.

Not Subject to FDA Approval?

It’s unclear what, if any, authority the FDA has over these matters. Over the past couple of years, the FDA has issued warnings to some clinics and seized a “concoction” produced by one stem-cell clinic to “fight cancer.” Since the clinics use fat extracted from the patient’s own body to “treat” these different problems, they are not, in effect, producing a new drug that the FDA has the power to regulate.

The states have gotten involved, however. Last year, California passed a law requiring stem-cell clinics to explicitly state that the therapies are not approved by the FDA. The FDA, on the other hand, is still fighting to target these procedures and prevent clinics from administering them to unwitting patients. The clinics are responding by saying that patients have a right to use the cells of their own body for experimental treatment.

Nonetheless, practitioners of this form of therapy are injecting stem cells into brains, eyes, and spines, which is, in and of itself, a very delicate medical procedure. The lack of oversight and accountability for this burgeoning industry has many legislators concerned.

Adverse results, however, have been rare. Rarer still is any evidence that the treatment provides the desired effects. It will be interesting to see if the woman who was blinded by the experimental therapy is able to collect on her negligence claim.

Have You Been Injured by a Medical Procedure?

If you have, reach out to the team at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. of Miami. We’ll do everything in our power to see that your case is resolved to your satisfaction.

Resources:

fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm286155.htm

washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/miracle-cures-or-modern-quackery-stem-cell-clinics-multiply-with-heartbreaking-results-for-some-patients/2018/04/29/80cbcee8-26e1-11e8-874b-d517e912f125_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ac4187a5b4e1