Medical Info - Spector & Kopec, LLC - Medical Malpractice and Catastrophic Personal Injury Lawyers

ATTENTION ST. JOSEPH’S STENT PATIENTS. YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO LEGAL RIGHTS. PLEASE CONTACT US TODAY TOLL FREE AT 1-888-610-HURT FOR A FREE CONSULTATION.

Baltimore Sun Uncovers Unnecessary Stent Placements at St. Joseph's Hospital in Towson

St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, whose cardiology business is a focus of a continuing federal health-care fraud investigation, has notified hundreds of its heart patients that they may have received expensive and potentially dangerous coronary implants they didn't need.

An internal review, begun last May at the behest of federal investigators and in response to a patient complaint, has turned up 369 patients with stents that appear to have been implanted in their arteries unnecessarily, CEO Jeffrey K. Norman said in an interview yesterday. Patients began receiving letters alerting them to the finding early last month, and more notifications are expected as the review continues.

"We take our interaction and the care of our patients with the utmost seriousness, and so we wanted to alert patients and their physicians to what we found," said Norman.

In several cases reviewed by The Baltimore Sun, patients who received coronary stents at St. Joseph - purportedly to open a clogged artery to correct a severe blockage - have since learned they had only minor blockage, if any. One 69-year-old man was told his artery had a 95 percent blockage, yet the new review suggests something closer to 10 percent, which is considered insignificant. A 55-year-old woman who agreed to receive a stent after being told she had a 90 percent blockage has since learned she had virtually no problem and that she never suffered from the heart diagnosis that has consumed her life for the past 18 months.

St. Joseph calls itself the busiest heart catheterization center in Maryland, and it is regarded as one of the primary cardiac care facilities in the region. The center typically performs about 6,500 cardiac procedures a year - an average of 18 a day. Last year St. Joseph highlighted the placement of its 100,000th coronary stent since 1980.

Hospital officials say the only doctor implicated in their review is one of the center's marquee physicians, Dr. Mark G. Midei, who abruptly stopped practicing and lost his privileges at the hospital last summer without notice to his patients or any comment from hospital officials.

Midei declined to discuss the matter in detail but released a statement Thursday saying he expects to be exonerated and to return to medical practice.

"I am confident that I have always acted in the best interest of my patients, and when all the facts are presented, I will continue providing quality medical care to my patients," he said.

Coronary stents are cylindrical devices that can open arteries clogged with plaque or create a bridge across areas of damage. They are typically inserted during a procedure called cardiac catheterization, in which a tool is inserted into the bloodstream at a small incision in the leg and threaded up to the arteries near the heart.

An alternative to open-chest surgery, cardiac catheterization with stent placement is a lucrative business for hospitals in the United States, which often charge $10,000 or more for the procedure. Most clinical guidelines, and reimbursement rules for Medicare and private insurance, set minimum thresholds for the procedure, often requiring at least 70 percent blockage of an artery before a stent should be placed. St. Joseph's guidelines regard blockage of 50 percent or less to be "insignificant."

Letters began arriving at patients' homes last month, alerting them to "differences" or "variances" uncovered in their medical files, and advising them to call their cardiologists. Packages sent to their cardiologists contained copies of the patients' X-ray images, along with the written laboratory report prepared when the stent was placed.

Baltimore Sun January 15, 2010

If you had stent placed by Dr. Midei you should contact Spector & Kopec, LLC tollfree at 1-888-610-HURT to discuss your legal rights.

At Spector & Kopec, LLC, we are available to answer your questions about medical conditions and potential malpractice cases. The following is some information on four specific conditions: Cerebral Palsy (CP), Erb’s Palsy, heart attack, and pulmonary embolism (blood clot). Call now for more information about these or other conditions at 1.888.610.HURT or email us at info@MedLawHelp.com .

What is Cerebral Palsy (CP)?

At Spector & Kopec, LLC, we have handled cases involving cerebral palsy caused by a medical mistake at birth.

Although the majority of cases of cerebral palsy are not caused by medical malpractice, there are some which are. Cerebral palsy can be caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain during the birth process. Many women who we speak with are familiar with the fetal monitor, which is placed on their stomachs while they are in labor. The fetal monitor is an effective tool to determine whether the baby is doing well. In some cases, there can be a failure by the doctor and the hospital to recognize when a baby is in fetal distress because of a lack of oxygen to the brain. Once a baby is in fetal distress, it is critical that the doctors and the hospitals work quickly to either stop the fetal distress or to perform a cesarean section delivery. Otherwise, a baby can sustain irreversible brain damage if the oxygen is deprived for too long.

Cerebral palsy is a permanent medical condition. Babies who are born with cerebral palsy often have mental retardation. These children typically require expensive medical care through their life. With the advancement of medicine, many children with cerebral palsy are living longer, well into adulthood. The medical expenses, therefore, are enormous.

We have found that parents are not given answers by doctors as to what happened and whether cerebral palsy could have been prevented. At Spector & Kopec, LLC, we will give you answers and if there was medical malpractice during the birth, we will work hard to obtain the monetary compensation to take care of your child.

If your child has cerebral palsy and you suspect that it may be the result of medical malpractice, please call us at 1.888.610.HURT or email at info@MedLawHelp.com. The consultation is free.

What is Erb’s Palsy?

Erb’s Palsy is an injury to the nerves of the neck which can be caused during birth. In some cases, a baby’s shoulder will get stuck after the head is delivered. When this happens, your doctor should have the training to handle this situation without injuring the nerves of the neck.

However, if your doctor improperly pulls on the baby’s head in an attempt to deliver the stuck shoulder, serious and permanent damage can occur. The nerves of the neck which make up the brachial plexus provide the power supply to a baby’s shoulder, arm, wrist and hand. If a doctor uses too much force by pulling on the baby’s head, those nerves can be damaged, either by overstretching the nerves of the neck, or in severe cases by ripping them from the spinal cord.

Although many Erb’s Palsy injuries get better, at Spector & Kopec, LLC we have handled many cases in which the injuries are permanent and life altering. In one of our cases, we obtained a verdict in the amount of $1.5 Million for a young girl who sustained an Erb’s Palsy injury during birth. If you click the Results Tab of this website, you can read the newspaper article which featured the case. If your child has Erb’s Palsy, please call us at 1.888.610.HURT or email at info@MedLawHelp.com.. The consultation is free.

What is a heart attack?

A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when the blood supply to the heart is either reduced or stopped. Usually, a heart attack occurs when one or more of the arteries which supply blood to the heart are clogged. The common warning signs for risk of a heart attack include chest discomfort, shortness of breath, back pain, jaw pain, or pain that radiates down the arm. One of the classic descriptions of a heart attack is a feeling as if an “elephant is sitting on your chest.”

Most people who believe they are having a heart attack go to the emergency room. It is extremely important for an emergency room physician to be able to recognize the warning signs and symptoms for a heart attack. There are various tests which can be done including blood work, stress test, and in some cases, a cardiac catheterization. If a heart attack is caused by clogged arteries, one of the most common procedures is for a doctor to insert a stent. The purpose of a stent is to open up the clogged artery to restore blood flow.

At Spector & Kopec, LLC, we have represented clients whose heart attack warning signs were missed by doctors. This can result in severe heart damage or death.

If you would like to speak with us about a case involving a heart attack, please call us at 1.888.610.HURT or email at info@MedLawHelp.com. The consultation is free.

What is a pulmonary embolism (Blood clot)?

A pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that goes to the lung. Most clots begin in the lower legs. Some people have a condition known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This is the medical term for blood clots in the large veins of the legs. Some of the symptoms of DVT may include pain in the leg, or poor circulation.

The danger of having a blood clot in the leg is that it can break off, travel through the body, and end up in the lung. If a blood clot does travel to the lung, the typical symptom is shortness of breath. If this shortness of breath becomes severe, one can either sustain brain damage from a lack of oxygen or death.

There are medicines available to prevent clots from breaking free from the leg. A doctor may prescribe blood thinner medications. One of the most common is Coumadin. There are also other procedures available like the insertion of a filter which acts like a basket. This filter can be inserted in the body so that a clot can be caught if it breaks free, preventing it from ending up in the lung.

At Spector & Kopec, LLC, we have handled cases involving pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis. If you or a loved one suspect that a doctor or hospital failed to recognize the symptoms of a pulmonary embolism and take appropriate action, call us at 1.888.610.HURT or email at info@MedLawHelp.com. The consultation is free.

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