Many New York residents understand how stressful it is to be told heart surgery is needed to survive. Any type of surgical procedure involves a certain amount of risk. Some surgeries, such as those involving the heart, are inherently more dangerous than others. When surgeons are negligent, severe injuries often occur, leading to medical malpractice lawsuits.
One can only imagine the horror of undergoing cardiac surgery, only to later learn the procedure was unnecessary. However, more than 80 lawsuits were recently settled in another state against a doctor and hospital for this very reason. The first red flag that something was not right arose in 2009 when there was a 300 percent increase of cardiac procedures at the facility.
The surgeon in question continued to operate on patients in the cardiology unit through 2012. More than 2,100 heart surgeries were performed there that year. In 2015, after the surgeon had moved to another location, news broke loose that he was being investigated. In fact, several years earlier, nurses had complained the doctor was using patient rooms to sleep and was performing operations up to 21 hours per day.
Those who settled their lawsuits said the hospital knew of the surgeon’s misconduct long before it informed cardiac patients their surgeries might have been unnecessary. Any patient in New York who believes medical malpractice has caused personal injury can take similar steps to those who rectified the problematic situation in North Carolina. An attorney experienced in malpractice litigation can clarify state laws regarding such matters and help overcome any obstacles that arise in court.
Source: wvrecord.com, “Settlement agreement reached in unnecessary cardiac procedure lawsuits“, Kyla Asbury, March 8, 2017
