Doctor James Stillerman was recently fired from his position as a general surgeon at Lewis County General Hospital after he was named as a defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The New York surgeon was one of five doctors to be named as defendants in the suit that was filed by Kevin Muncy and Wanda Bush-Muncy. Medical malpractice attorneys believe that the hospital elected to cut ties with its former employee around the same time that the lawsuit was submitted.
Former Patient Seeks Damages
The Muncy’s have filed the lawsuit in hopes of receiving a variety of damages. The couple is looking for damages and legal fees for pain and suffering, loss of income, and loss of enjoyment of life for Mr. Muncy, and loss of care, compassion and consortium for his wife, Wanda. Medical malpractice attorneys say that the couple accuses Dr. Stillerman of failing to properly assess, treat, and provide follow-up care for cellulitis and an abscess of the big toe. Furthermore, the couple’s medical malpractice attorneys claim that the remaining defendants failed to provide the necessary medical care, inform Kevin Muncy of the dangers associated with surgery, follow specific protocols that relate to diabetic patients, or obtain an opinion from a physician who was board certified in surgery. Medical malpractice attorneys believe that these acts of medical negligence, if proven in a court of law, could have led to the severe and permanent injuries that Mr. Muncy still lives with today.
Medical Malpractice Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If you or a family member have recently been the victim of medical negligence, it is possible that you would like to speak with our professionals. Please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
James Gleeson, Gwendoline’s son, is very upset because he just recently found out the details of nursing home neglect involved in his mother’s death. He had previously assumed that she was left alone for a few minutes, not two hours. “I don’t want this to happen again to anybody … mum has passed away and I find out 12 months later what has happened and she was left tied to a toilet,” Mr. Gleeson said. He is angry with the facility for keeping him in the dark about the whole situation. He was unaware that restraining belts were even used on his mother. The care plan that was made for Mrs. Gleeson had no authorization for the restraints and stated that she needed to be supervised while on the toilet.
Amy M. Armstrong, 40, a hospice nurse in Woodstock, Georgia, is being charged with stealing medication from an elderly patient. After a family member went to the authorities with the possible theft of narcotic painkillers, agents with the Cherokee narcotics squad used video to catch Armstrong taking the pills from a patient. The agents then found more pills, including pain killers and anti-depressants, in her possession. She was arrested on August 23, 2011 and charged with two counts of felony theft by taking, two counts of elder abuse, two counts of possession of a schedule II controlled substance, and a single count of possession of a schedule III controlled substance. Armstrong is being held at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center under a $75,000 bond.
Milagros Angeles, 62, is being accused of theft by a caretaker, elder abuse, false imprisonment, and being in possession of altered checks. If she is found guilty, Milagros may be facing more than six years in prison. She worked as the caretaker of Navy veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor Arnold “Max” Bauer, 93, since 2009. When employees at Bauer’s bank noticed a series of suspicious checks drawn on his account during a 6 month period of absence, they contacted Adult Protective Services. Investigators were sent to check on him. Once in the home, they found that the elderly man was living in “filth and squalor,” with trash, rotting food and rat feces covering the house. According to San Diego Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Varnau, Bauer was found disoriented and dehydrated and “It appears he has advanced Alzheimer’s … He can engage in conversation for a very short period of time and then he drifts off. He is very vulnerable and very much open to being victimized and manipulated.”
Deborah Rutledge was experiencing numbness in her groin, legs, and feet when she went in search of medical help at the Andersen Air Force Base clinic in Guam. A doctor’s assistant and a nurse met with Rutledge but failed to conduct proper medical examinations for the numbness the woman experienced. To compound the problem, the medical professionals did not report the case to their supervisors and instead misdiagnosed what Rutledge was suffering from. Lawyers say that the symptoms persisted, even after an emergency operation. Rutledge continues to suffer today from nerve damage.
Kelvin Washington, 47, who works as an administrator at a Sugar Land nursing home in Texas, was arrested on August 4, 2011 and is being charged with conspiracy, health care fraud and violations of the anti-kickback statute. He is being accused of creating a plan where he billed federal health care programs for ambulance transport and received payments totaling approximately $20,000 for referring the dialysis patients to a Houston ambulance transport service between 2003 and 2007. He allegedly conspired to have unknowing doctors sign transport prescriptions for patients who were never even admitted to the nursing home. Medicare and Medicaid were billed almost $1 million in false health care claims. The maximum penalties for a violation of the health care fraud statue in Texas is a maximum of 10 years in prison. The maximum sentence for a violation of the conspiracy statue or the anti-kickback statute is five years. Each of the 10 counts charged also carry a maximum $250,000 fine as punishment upon conviction.
Initially, Susan Piro cancelled the trip she planned to take to America. However, the vacation became too hard to resist, and Susan departed, leaving her mother behind. Ironically, the point of the excursion was to visit places in America her mother had once lived. Susan’s selfish and clouded judgement have now prevented her from ever being able to share these memories with her mother. 
Creekside Care Center in Stockton, California was fined $100,000 last month following the death of one of their residents. After an investigation from the state, they found that inadequate care led to the victim’s death. The nursing home staff failed to treat her properly after her left thigh bone broke in October 2008. The injury and lack of treatment led to cardio-respiratory distress and her death in the emergency room a few days later.
On average, research has shown that the process to upgrade to pressure-reduction mattresses would cost about 30 cents per patient. This minimal investment would soon pay major dividends in the healthcare world. Professionals project that the reduction in bed sores could save $32 dollars per patient in treatment and care costs. This equation leads to one conclusion, big money will be saved once healthcare costs decrease. Murray Krahn, a principal investigator with the study stated that “pressure ulcers are a huge but under-appreciated problem across multiple settings in our health-care system.” He continued by stating, “though they are not the full solution, pressure-reduction mattresses are an inexpensive and easy way to address the problem.”