Miami Injury Attorney Blog

Medical malpractice in South Florida often results in doctors having to face penalties from their medical associations. Last week, the Florida Board of Medicine levied a $5,000 fine on a Coral Springs surgeon Bernard Zaragoza for removing a patient's healthy kidney instead of his gallbladder during an operation in 2007. The surgery took place in Broward county's Northwest Medical Center, and the patient died three weeks later because of heart failure. While the board found that the doctor was not being careless or inept, it could not dismiss the case because a state hearing officer issued a ruling that said removal of a kidney is not a complication of gallbladder surgery, as the doctor's attorney had argued. The 83-year-old patient had an unusual anatomy - his kidney was located where his gallbladder should have been.

A Northwest Medical Center administrator was forced to report the wrong-organ removal to the Agency for Health Care Administration, a requirement for serious errors. The AHCA then notified the Department of Health.

Continue reading "Broward Surgeon Fined for Removing Healthy Kidney Instead of Gallbladder" »

Last month, the Miami medical malpractice attorneys of Gamba & Lombana filed a lawsuit against the University of Miami on behalf of a victim of alleged hospital negligence. The lawsuit stated that University of Miami doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami Medical Center failed to give proper post-operative care to Pablo Portieles. Portieles, who initially was treated for a gunshot wound, was placed in a post-operative care unit where his deteriorating condition, including an injured spleen, went unrecognized and untreated by physicians. This led to Portieles to go into a cardio-pulmonary arrest causing permanent brain damage. He is currently in a minimally conscious state and is residing at a rehabilitative facility where he remains bedridden and unable to speak, walk, eat or perform any daily living activities.

The medical negligence lawsuit names the University of Miami, various physicians, and the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County, the governing body of Jackson Memorial Hospital. Damages are sought for Portieles' injuries and for the past and future suffering of his wife.

Continue reading "South Florida Medical Malpractice Attorneys File Lawsuit Against University of Miami on Behalf of Comatose Patient" »