In 2013, wrestler and reality TV star Hulk Hogan filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Laser Spine Institute and several of its surgeons in Tampa, claiming that they rendered inappropriate care that damaged his wrestling career due to them performing unnecessary surgeries on him. Additionally, the Institute used Hogan’s endorsement without his permission, prompting him to seek damages of $50 million.
Read more: Hulk Hogan Sues Spine Clinic After Undergoing Unnecessary Surgeries
Perhaps one of the most complex medical malpractice cases to come out of New York City is that of 34-year-old cable splicer, Thomas Dockery.
In 2002, Thomas suffered a grand mal seizure in his sleep and was rushed to Peninsula Hospital in Far Rockaway, New York. His CT scan was interpreted as normal; however, an MRI interpreted two days later showed a lesion known as a glioma, which is a central nervous system tumor. Thomas was referred to Dr. Chris Overby of Peninsula Hospital, a neurosurgeon who agreed that he had a glioma. A second opinion was obtained from Dr. Philip Gutin of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Hospital in Manhattan, who also agreed that Thomas had a glioma and scheduled a surgery for 13 days later.
Mount Sinai Hospital is a well-known hospital that borders on Manhattan’s East Harlem and Yorkville neighborhoods. Originally founded in 1852, the center now includes the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, which currently ranks among America’s top 20 medical schools. Unfortunately, this ranking isn’t enough to prevent medical malpractice from occurring at the hospital, and one of its more shocking cases involved the in-utero death of an infant.
On 13 December 2017, Jana Diaz arrived at Mount Sinai’s Midwood’s facility in Brooklyn at 1 am due to cramps and bleeding. The hospital did not have a maternity ward or an OBGYN on staff, and no one was immediately called when it became apparent that they did not have the knowledge or facilities needed to treat Jana correctly. In fact, Jana states that it took 90 minutes for the emergency care doctor-on-call to see her and perform an exam and that her unborn baby’s heart rate had dropped to 104 by then. Despite this, Jana says that the hospital staff was more concerned with ensuring that her paperwork was being correctly filled in as opposed to managing her clinically. Jana’s lawyer states that as a clear obstetrical emergency, an emergency C-section should have been performed immediately.
Read more: Mount Sinai Hospital’s Medical Malpractice Caused Infant’s Death
Known as one of the best hospitals in New York City, the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is considered a leading orthopedic, rheumatology, and neurological care facility. Unfortunately, medical malpractice can still occur in medical centers with such stellar reputations, as evidenced by Bethany Flanders and her filing of a medical malpractice lawsuit against one of the hospital’s doctors.
When Bethany Sanders was 13 years old, she underwent spinal surgery to help treat her serious scoliosis. Despite being doubled over and barely able to walk, Bethany could still see and had normal vision before undergoing the seven-hour operation; however, Bethany came out of the surgery unable to see – a possible surgical side-effect that surgeon Oheneba Boachie-Adjei failed to disclose to her and her family. Additionally, the informed consent form required for such a surgery was never presented to Bethany and her parents, nor was it signed.
Read more: Surgical Error at Hospital for Special Surgery Results in Young Girl Going Blind
When the terms “medical malpractice” and “medical malpractice lawsuit” are mentioned, visions of patients and their families suffering needlessly are the first that come to mind. However, fellow doctors are just as vulnerable to medical malpractice at the hands of their colleagues.
In 2014, Steven Stuchin, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, became a victim of New York University Langone Medical Center, when he was forced to undergo a battery of assessments, including neurological testing, in a bid to dismiss him from his position. Stuchin, who was 66 years old at the time, had a “stellar” reputation as an experienced doctor at NYU’s Langone Hospital for Joint Diseases and as an associate NYU professor. He claims that he was treated like an “old bag of bones” after two higher-ups decided that he was too old to continue working, despite there being no valid reason.
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