A NY Hospital Not Liable in Medical Malpractice Suit

Vincent Liew was the victim of Medical malpractice, but courts thought otherwise.
Vincent Liew died 7 months after receiving a kidney transplant from a cancer infected donor.

A medical malpracticesuit ended in heartbreak for a Queens woman when the NYU Langone Medical Center was found not liable for the death of her husband after a kidney transplant.

The Story Behind Liew’s Medical Malpractice Case

Vincent Liew was 37 years old when he received a call from the hospital that they had a finally found him a matching kidney. He had been awaiting the kidney for five years, and was receiving dialysis treatments three times a week. On February 25, 2002, Vincent underwent the transplant, the organ coming from 50 year old Sandy Cabrera who died of a stroke the day before.

The surgery was successful, and everything was fine. That is, until Sandy Cabrera’s autopsy six weeks later. The medical examiner who performed the autopsy notified Liew’s doctors that Cabrera had an aggressive uterine cancer that had started to spread to her lungs. Upon discovery of the information, Liew’s doctors assured both him and his wife Kim that they were 99.9% sure that Vincent would not acquire the disease. Their reasoning being that the cancer was from an organ that Liew did not have, and therefore it was highly unlikely he would become sick. Four months later, doctors found a cancerous tumor on Liew’s new kidney. The kidney was removed, but Liew was dying.

He died three weeks later; cancer acquired from the donor his cause of death. Kim Liew sued the hospital for medical malpractice, but lost. The Queens jury found that the hospital and Liew’s doctors provided the best possible care. Though it seems they took a chance on him, and lost. They gambled with a man’s life. Two other patients who received organs from Cabrera also died.

Who is to blame for Medical Malpractice?

Transplanting organs ravaged by cancer is most definitely an instance of medical malpractice. Perhaps the doctors who performed the surgery are not liable. But what about the doctors who screened the patients before their eligibility for organ donation? What about the company that harvested the organs? A man has lost his life, a wife her husband, because of a gross case of negligence. This kind of medical malpractice can not go unpunished. If you or a loved one have suffered from what you believe is a case of medical malpractice or negligence, than do not hesitate to contact the medical malpractice attorneys at the Mininno Law Office. We are here to help you through this difficult time, and to get you the compensation you deserve. Contact us for a free case evaluation, or call us at 856-833-0600, or 215-567-2380 in Philadelphia.

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