Lawsuits Report

Medical Malpractice Cases Are Killing the World - Even the Stars!

Had the celebrated German composer, Ludwig van Beethoven died in the 20th century, the medical malpractice lawsuit against his doctor will surely be a controversial one. Just recently, a team of Viennese forensic experts lead by Christian Reiter made a very astonishing discovery: the great master composer was probably poisoned by his own doctor. The findings are substantial and significant to prove that there is a large amount of lead in Beethoven’s body… enough to cause death!

Malpractice is a specific legal term related to lawsuits alleging various different circumstances leading to damage to a patient. Malpractice suits may allege various mistakes made by doctors or other medical professionals, including misdiagnosis, mistreatment, and other types of negligence. But this does not go to say that all errors in medical diagnosis and treatment are necessarily considered a malpractice. There are certain risks that arise inherently in the practice of medicine and margins for error are established so that things will depend on the gravity and severity of a specific case.

Medical malpractice denotes a negligent act or incorrect medical practice or procedure resulting to damage, injury and possibly death of a patient. A malpractice suit is filed by a person or his family with a cause of action and with the assistance of a medical malpractice lawyer. It is wise to get the assistance of a lawyer first before confronting the physician or alleging malpractice against someone because not all mistakes are malpractices because the law gives allowance to errors that are inherent to medical care.

The support and guidance of a medical malpractice attorney is very important in cases like this so that the victim or the family are given the opportunity to make the medical practitioners answerable to the law, what rights were violated and what necessary courses of action are feasible.

Proving an alleged medical malpractice case is actually a bit difficult especially if the person filing it is not well-versed with the law covering it. Cases usually go on and on without much hope for the victims. More often than not, lawsuits of this nature are settled out of court. Those on the wrong might have ‘paid’ for the consequences of their actions or non-actions, but the consequences of all these will always be disastrous and, unfortunately, oftentimes fatal, for some cases.

There are several celebrated cases of medical malpractice cases which owe their notoriety to either the victim of malpractice or the scandal that’s attached to the case. This only goes to show that even celebrities are not immune to this kind of screw up.

Julie Andrew’s case is one tragic example of medical malpractice which caused her and the world the loss of her amazing singing voice. The well-known 64-year-old Sound of Music star underwent surgery in June 1997 to remove a non-cancerous nodule in her throat. The two doctors responsible for the operation, Scott Kessler and Jeffrey Libin, allegedly forgot to mention that the operation has a very high probability of ruining her ability to sing and to perform in musical theater.

According to Andrews, she filed a lawsuit because she had not been told that the operation carried the risk of permanent hoarseness and irreversible loss of vocal quality or other complication that might leave her unable to sing. Andrews further claimed that the doctors operated on both sides of her vocal organs when it was only the left side which was affected; thus, there was no reason to do anything to the right side. This case took years to discuss in court, until the two doctors made a settlement in 2000.

Another medical malpractice lawsuit filed is that of the famous ABC Television broadcasting company’s sports writer and broadcaster Richard Schaap, who went in for a hip replacement surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York in 2001. Everything seemed to be okay when Mr. Schaap went home to recover, but three months later he died of a post-operation infection. Dick Schaap was only 67 and was still very active in his career. The first case was filed by the Schaap family against the hospital for allegedly lacking adequate hygiene standards, hence, the post-operation infection, which was the cause of Dick’s untimely death.

Unfortunately, the lawsuit was dismissed due to lack of evidence; the Schaap’s theory didn’t stand in court. The defense, through their lawyer, denied the accusation saying that the charge against them was but theoretical and did not have any legitimacy and weight in court.

Two years later, the Schaap family filed another lawsuit, this time against the three doctors who took care of Dick while in the hospital. The claim was that the doctors failed to diagnose lung damage from use of the drug, amiodarone. The jury convicted one doctor but exonerated the other two which, in a way, a controversial decision. Nevertheless, the Schaaps got what they were aiming for; they were awarded $1.9M for all the troubles and heartaches they endured.

Intriguingly enough is the fact that even after several years, the Center of Justice and Democracy always cites the ABC Primetime Live broadcast of the Schaap’s case as an argument against medical malpractice reforms.

Another such case often referred to by the Center of Justice and Democracy is the lawsuit filed by the family of Freddie Prinze of the famed Chico and the Man TV sitcom, who committed suicide in the presence of his manager in a hotel. The young TV actor is at that time well-received by the American public, but at the same time hooked into pills, on top of his family problems, with his wife leaving him together with their child.

The family accused Freddie’s psychiatrist with malpractice, for allegedly taking away then returning the 32 caliber pistol to young Prinze. This particular action of the doctor pushed Prinze to shoot and kill himself, the family claims. The doctor denied the allegations, but settled the indictment outside the court.

The case of actor, John Ritter, of the well-known TV sitcom, Three’s Company, is one of those cases where a patient was diagnosed and treated for another ailment and thus failing to provide the patient with the proper medication. The family alleged that the doctors at the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California misdiagnosed his condition as a heart attack and failed to properly treat the tear in his aorta, which eventually led to his death in 2003.

Three years after Ritter’s death, his widow and four children finally reached a settlement with the hospital.

A similar case, but not as fatal, is the double bypass surgery undergone by comedian actor, Dana Carvey. His heart surgeon operated on the wrong artery but, fortunately, it did not give Carvey any health problem. In fact, his publicist said ‘he (Carvey) has been given a clean bill of health.’

Even so, the actor still pushed through with the medical malpractice suit believing that the person who committed the mistake must be accountable for his actions. He also told the press that he will do everything to make sure that his experience will not happen to someone else ever again. A settlement for an undisclosed amount was given to Carvey which he eventually donated to charity.

One more case filed as medical malpractice suit, again, not so fatal, is that of the famous Notre Dame coach, Charlie Weiss, who filed a medical malpractice suit against the two doctors responsible for his near-fatal gastric bypass survey. He is seeking unspecified damages due to the complications developed after the surgery in June 2002.

But unlike Carvey, Weiss might not be able to collect any damages since July 2007, the jury has returned a favorable verdict for the defense. The jury believed that both doctors have exercised the proper and reasonable care for their patient under the circumstances.

The celebrity dermatologist Arnold Klein and Botox manufacturer Allegan Inc. faced a big problem when a Hollywood socialite and wife of film producer Mike Medavoy, Irene Medavoy, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the said dermatologist and product manufacturer in January 2003. According to Medeavoy, after using Botox, she suffered numerous and serious illnesses, including four months of migraine attacks that left her bedridden.

Medeavoy says that several medical practitioners whom she had consulted had a unified feedback about the use of Botox. The drug can cause severe headaches and it had a great possibility of being responsible for Mrs. Medeavoy’s aches and problems.

The case was filed in the court and the defense team tried to discredit Mrs. Medeavoy as an unstable, overindulged and overmedicated woman; but it seemed that this would be of little consequence to the jury since Klein’ statements had actually revealed some questionable practices by the famous and celebrity dermatologist, Klein.
This is the very first (and very public)

medical malpractice lawsuit concerning the use of Botox. The end result of this particular case will have a lasting effect on the people using it — the cosmetic surgeons and the patients as well.

One notable and world-renowned case is not about any celebrity or famous medical practitioner but about the ‘struggle’ to live by an ordinary woman turned luminary because of the situation she was in. And the most interesting part of all these is that she can’t say anything about her case— she is in a coma.

This is the case of Terri Schiavo a woman who suffered brain damage and became dependent on a feeding tube starting February 25, 1990, when she experience respiratory and cardiac arrest. This led to 15 years of institutionalization and a diagnosis of persistent vegetative state.

Schiavo’s husband filed and won a malpractice suit against her obstetrician, Dr. Stephen Igel, who was treating Terri for amenorrhoea (absence of a menstrual period in a woman of reproductive age) but failing to recognize and diagnose bulimia. The jury awarded US$1 million as damages to Terri’s husband in 1992.

Eight years after her attack, her husband petitioned to have her feeding tube removed. This was opposed by her parents, arguing that she is conscious. The battle stretched for more than a decade involving a great number of people, including politicians, advocacy groups and the general public. The flow of events resulted in extensive national and international media coverage.

There are many types of harmful medical mistakes and potential mistakes for which malpractice suits can be filed, yet there is also some level of marginal error awarded to medical practitioners, as considerations to the reality that they can never assure 100% the life of a person. Proving medical malpractice is a tricky endeavor. Celebrity or not, we all have the right to a fair deal, whatever product or service we avail. Thanks to these celebrity and “celebritized” cases, however, more people are becoming aware of what they should do should they suspect anomalies.

Medical Malpractice Cases Are Killing the World - Even the Stars!

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