A surgeon in Los Angeles has been ordered to pay a Maryland patient and his wife $800,600 in a medical malpractice case.

According to court documents, Dr. Hrayr Shahinian performed an inappropriate surgery on George Ralli and then altered a pathology report to cover up his failure to remove a tumor. Shahinian admitted that he did not remove the tumor, but denies ever altering a document or trying to conceal the error.

Ralli and his wife traveled from Maryland to see Shahinian in 2006. A small, non-cancerous tumor behind Ralli’s left ear was threatening his hearing, and a childhood case of mumps had already destroyed the hearing in Ralli’s right ear. A judge said that Shahinian “was more interested in marketing then he was in medicine” when he sold the couple a minimally invasive procedure.

The $800,600 award included $300,000 for “intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

If you or a loved one has suffered an illness or injury due to the negligent actions of a doctor or another health care worker, contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.

The Texas Supreme Court upheld the state’s statute of repose on medical malpractice filings.

The court upheld the 10-year limitation on medical malpractice lawsuits with its ruling in Methodist Healthcare System of San Antonio v. Rankin. Justice Don Willett explained the lawsuit in the court”s published opinion, writing:

“After experiencing abdominal pain, Emmalene Rankin consulted a physician in July 2006 and learned that a surgical sponge had been left inside her during a November 1995 hysterectomy. Rankin sued the hospital where the operation was performed, Southwest Texas Methodist Hospital, and two physicians, Robert and Wendell Schorlemer… The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that Rankin’s claim was barred by section 74.251(b) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the ten-year statute of repose for healthcare-liability claims.”

Rankin did not discover the surgical sponge until 10 years after the surgery. The trial court sided with the defendants however, but upon appeal the statute of repose was deemed unconstitutional. Willett explained the ruling saying “the key purpose of a repose statute is to eliminate uncertainties under the related statute of limitations and to create a final deadline for filing suit that is not subject to any exceptions, except perhaps those clear exceptions in the statute itself….”

If you or someone you love has been injured by the negligent actions of a medical professional, contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., P.C at 856-667-7515 today.

A married couple in Kansas who worked as a doctor and nurse have been accused of directly contributing to almost ninety deaths due to illegal prescription writing.

A federal indictment issued Thursday claims Dr. Stephen Schneider and his wife Linda schemed to illegally dispense prescription drugs and defrauded health insurance programs and patients. The couple also face charges of money laundering.

According to federal court documents, the couple directly contributed to 21 deaths and 68 fatal overdoses. The indictment also claims patients were issued refills on medication even after they had previously overdosed.

The couple were arrested for illegally prescribing drugs, money laundering, and over-billing medical services.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of medical malpractice in Pennsylvania, you deserve to speak with an experienced attorney you can trust. Please contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.

State authorities in Pennsylvania have suspended the license of a doctor who performed abortions, citing the death of a recent patient.

Philadelphia Dr. Kermit Gosnell's license was temporarily suspended this week after investigators encountered "deplorable and unsanitary" conditions at his clinic. Investigators cited blood on the floor, fetus parts in jars, and a recovery area consisting of recliners.

The 69 year-old Gosnell has been named in more than forty lawsuits in the last 20 years. Ten of the claims have been medical malpractice suits. 

State authorities labeled Gosnell "an immediate and clear danger to the public."

If you or someone you love has been the victim of medical malpractice in Pennsylvania, you deserve to speak with an experienced attorney you can trust. Please contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.

A woman in Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against a hospital and doctors after she killed two people in a car accident while under the influence of prescription drugs.

According to court documents, the elderly driver alleges that her doctors failed to warn her that she should not drive while on her medication. Jane Berghold filed the lawsuit Friday, naming Compass Medical and four doctors as defendants. Berghold stepped on the gas pedal instead of the break when she was leaving the hospital parking lot. Her car smashed into the radiation therapy department of the facility. A doctor and secretary were killed in the crash.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the lawsuit required a malpractice review before going to trial. The review is meant to determine if the doctor is responsible, or whether the patient could be liable. 

If you or someone you love has been the victim of medical malpractice in Pennsylvania, you deserve to speak with an experienced attorney you can trust. Please contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.

A jury in Washington awarded almost $3 million to the family of a man after a misdiagnosis by a radiologist.

The Fairfax County jury found that a radiologist in Alexandria was negligent in his treatment of 52 year-old Hector Alvarez. Alvarez went to the Inova HealthPlex on July 6, 2006, complaining of chest pains and trouble swallowing. He had a piece of meat stuck in his throat. 

Court documents show that Alvarez was given a number of tests, the results of which were sent to Dr. William J. Dunwoody III, a radiologist with the Association of Alexandria Radiologists. Dunwoody diagnosed Alvarez with "a large hiatal hernia."   Around midnight, a surgeon looked at Alvarez's CT scan and saw the man had a perforated esophagus. 

Alvarez was immediately prepared for an operation to repair the damaged organ, but after a catheter was inserted Alvarez went into cardiac arrest. Attorney for Alvaraez's family John J. Sellinger said the time wasted following Dunwoody's misdiagnosis cost Alvarez his life. "If he hadn't been so sick when they put the epidural in, he wouldn't have arrested," said Sellinger.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a negligent medical worker, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Please contact the experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.

The Montana Supreme Court has ruled that a state District Court has jurisdiction to hear a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by the widow Kootenai man.

The ruling overturns the decision of District Judge Ted Lympus last year, which dismissed the lawsuit filed by Diane Morigeau against Dr. David Gorman and the Polson Family Medical Clinic over the February 2003 death of her husband Ben. Mr. Morigeau was a member of the Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

The ruling last year was in favor of the defendents, who argued that the lawsuit should have been filed in tribal court due to the involvement of a tribal member and because the medical care in question occurred in Polson, an area of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of Pennsylvania medical malpractice, please contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.

A $9 million settlement has been reached in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed against a hospital in Illinois.

The suit was filed on behalf of a 39 year-old mother who went into the hospital for a routine procedure but was overmedicated. She stopped breathing, and hospital staff could not resuscitate the woman. The woman suffered a hypoxic brain injury and died several days later.

The suit alleged taht the hospital staff was negligent in failing to realize the woman's condition, delaying the issuance of a code blue. The lawsuit also claimed that the code team failed to perform chest compressions as a part of CPR because they misinterpreted the electrical activity in the woman's heart.

The settlement was reached before the lawsuit was even filed.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of Pennsylvania medical malpractice, please contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., by calling 610-667-7511.

Michael Jackson's doctor was charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter for administering drugs impoperly.

Dr. Conrad Murray is accused of medical negligence in a complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles, which says Murray "unlawfully, and without malice" killing his patient, music legend Michael Jackson. Los Angeles County superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz set bail at $75,000. If Murray is convicted he will face up to four years in prison.

Adjunct professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, Jessica Levinson, said of the case "take away the celbrity factor here and physicians will be watching for what is the standard relied on… [and] new or interesting legal frameworks with respect to affirmative defenses for physicians administering medications that can result in death."

If you or a loved one has been the victim of Pennsylvania medical malpractice or negligence, please contact a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. by calling 610-667-7511.

A jury in Texas has acquitted a nurse who was charged with a felony after alerting the state medical board of a doctor practicing unsafe medicine at her hospital.

Anne Mitchell was found not guilty of "misuse of official information" by the jury after a four-day trial. Her conviction could have carried a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 

Attorneys for the 52 year-old nurse at Winkler County Memorial Hospital, successfully argued that Mitchell was following state law which requires that reports of misconduct be made in good faith. Prosecutors argued that, when Michell reported Dr. Rolando G. Arafiles Jr. for medical malpractice, she was waging a personal vendetta against the physician.

The jury foreman said of Mitchell's whistle-blowing, "we just didn't see the wrongdoing…"

If you or a loved one has been the victim of Pennsylvania medical malpractice or negligence, please contact a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. by calling 610-667-7511.