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Tag: Orthopedic Malpractice

Biojoint Litigation 1

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

Two patients at the Mizzou Biojoint Center in Columbia, MO, have filed lawsuits alleging medical negligence following knee surgery. The 13th Judicial Circuit of Missouri lawsuit charges James Stannard, MD, medical director for the Mizzou Biojoint Center, and James Cook, DVM, PHD, OTSC, director of operations and scientific director of the center, with not disclosing that the surgeries were experimental.  Plaintiffs Amanda Reinsch and Daniel Draper were also not advised that Cook is not a medical doctor, nor was he a licensed physician at the time. The Mizzou Biojoint Center website states:

Mizzou BioJoint® solutions may be right for you if:

You are 55 or younger

You are nicotine-free

Your height to weight ratio falls within a BMI of 35 or less

Plaintiffs Reinsch and Draper allege that Stannard failed to tell them they were not proper candidates for the surgery. Their body mass indexes were both above 35 and Reinsch was not nicotine free.

Columbia Ortho Group describes the biojoint procedure:

Are biojoints really a transplant procedure?

Yes, the biojoint procedure is a transplant procedure. When an organ donor passes away, his/her organs, including their joints, are harvested. The joints are evaluated for diseases and treated for preservation by companies which specialize in preparing these parts for transplantation. The recipient patient with the arthritic joint is kept on a waiting list. When the appropriately sized bone and cartilage are available, the patient is called and arrangements are made to transplant the bone and cartilage promptly. Once the harvested bone and cartilage are available, it is common that there may only be forty-five to sixty days during which the transplant can be performed.

Draper was an active duty member of the U.S. Army. He underwent a second Mizzou Biojoint surgery when the first was unsuccessful. Draper eventually underwent a total knee replacement following the two unsuccessful biojoint surgeries. Draper states that he lost the ability to continue his career in the military and can no longer live independently.

Stannard recommended the Mizzou Biojoint surgery to Reinsch in 2016. She had pain following the procedure and had two additional follow up surgeries. A second opinion led to a total knee replacement by a different surgeon who found that Reinsch’s knee was infected with staph bacteria. She reports irreversible and permanent damage to her knee.

Orthopedic surgeons diagnose and treat diseases and injuries of bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and nerves. Allegations of medical negligence usually stem from medical complications and/or poor surgical outcomes and a possible loss of function. Orthopedic surgery expert witnesses provide an unbiased opinion regarding the medical standard of care in these lawsuits. Contact ELITE Medical Experts to secure a leading orthopedic surgery expert from a major US academic medical center.

Orthopedists & Surgery Outcomes

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

Orthopedists specialize in the diagnosis, correction, and treatment of patients with disorders of the bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons.  These doctors regularly perform joint repair and replacement operations including total knee replacement, total hip replacement, knee arthroscopy, spine surgery, shoulder replacement, and ACL reconstruction. A new study by The Doctors Company looked at 1,895 medical negligence cases against orthopedists and found that the three most common patient allegations were “improper performance of surgery, improper management of the surgical patient, and diagnosis-related issues, such as failure or delay in diagnosis or wrong diagnosis. The claim of improper performance of surgery was often made by the patient when the outcome differed from the patient’s expectations.” Sports medicine surgeon Dr. Ralph A. Gambardella of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles commented on the study:

While improper performance of surgery was the top patient allegation, in most cases the risks had been disclosed to patients prior to the procedure, but the patient may not have understood. In nearly a third of claims, patients did not adhere to the treatment plan, and this behavior was more likely when there was inadequate communication.

The Doctors Company is a physician owned medical malpractice insurer with 77,000 members.

When a patient alleges medical negligence, it is often in response to a medical outcome different than their expectations. The orthopedic expert witness is called upon to examine the evidence and consult on the results of the surgery. As with any surgery, there are potential risks such as bleeding, infection, etc. In orthopedic surgery, complications may include nerve damage, lack of full range of motion, the development of arthritis, or scar formation. The orthopedic expert is trained to evaluate these conditions and give an informed explanation on whether the medical standard of care was breached in surgeries such as cervical spinal fusion, laminectomy, discectomy, total joint replacement, etc.