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Pulmonary Pathology Expert To Testify In Phillip Morris Lawsuit

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

Pulmonary pathologist Dr. Lucian Radu Chirieac will testify for the defense in Nikki Pooshs’ case against tobacco companies. Pooshs has sued Phillip Morris as well as other tobacco companies after being diagnosed with lung cancer. She argues that the manufacturers hid health hazards and the addictive nature of their products.

Pooshs’ legal team tried to exclude Dr. Chirieac’s testimony  but California U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton ruled the objection was filed too late. The pulmonary expert is an Associate Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and Associate Pathologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Chirieac is also a member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center which conducts research on the causes and pathogenesis of lung cancer.

Program members (approximately 60 researchers in total) are based in multiple institutions, departments, and disciplines and have expertise in smoking cessation, genetic susceptibility to tobacco smoke, the genetic changes in lung cancer, mRNA expression patterns, and novel therapeutic approaches, including pre-clinical modeling, conducting clinical trials of novel therapies, and characterization of acquired resistance.

The University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences publishes a list of the changes that happen to the lungs and airways of a smoker. These include:

The lungs’ cleaning system not work well.

The lungs age faster and can be destroyed.

Cigarette smoke has chemicals that can make normal cells change into cancer cells.

Pulmonary medical professionals treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma as well as mesothelioma and lung cancer. Expert witnesses in this field may consult and testify on causation and standard of care.

Pulmonary Medicine Experts

Posted on by Burton Bentley II, M.D FAAEM

What areas of medicine do pulmonary medicine expert witnesses consult on? These experts may write reports and testify on standards of care involving chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, mesothelioma, pulmonary embolism, lung cancer, and other conditions. In a complicated medical malpractice case against the treating emergency physician and the emergency physician’s group, parents of Shaquille Johnson sued Price Paul Omondi, M.D., and Southwest Emergency Physicians, P.C., in the death of their son.

Johnson died following treatment by Omondi in the emergency department at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. The Johnsons and their experts argue that the history taken by Omondi, the physical exam he conducted, and his interpretation of the chest x-ray and EKG were all deviations from the standard of care. Furthermore, the Johnsons contend that Omondi’s failure to properly to rule out a pulmonary embolism and order a chest CT scan constitute medical negligence. The trial court dismissed the case for failing to meet the “gross negligence” standard of proof and the appellate court affirmed the decision.

However, the Georgia Supreme Court reviewed the case, and held that the treating physician’s care may have been grossly negligent and a jury would have to decide the issue. The higher court heard testimony from plaintiff experts Dr. Peter Rosen and Dr. Steven Gabaeff. Both experts stated that the standard of care required the treating physician to obtain a CT scan in order to rule out a pulmonary embolism and that the failure to do so was “grossly improper, egregious, and contrary to well-known and fundamental medical principles.” Emergency Physicians Monthly writes:

Drs. Rosen and Gabaeff testified that the EKG showed “Q3T3” abnormalities and the chest x-ray demonstrated cardiomegaly – which were allegedly both suggestive of a pulmonary embolism.

Pulmonology expert witnesses are critical in lawsuits claiming pulmonary medicine negligence. A medical malpractice determination is devastating to both physicians and medical groups. Following a guilty medical malpractice outcome, a physician’s malpractice coverage can be denied and their medical license rescinded.