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  • Theresa Barona, Gilbert Barona v. Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Samantha Cohen, Nuan CuiMedical Malpractice document preview
  • Theresa Barona, Gilbert Barona v. Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Samantha Cohen, Nuan CuiMedical Malpractice document preview
  • Theresa Barona, Gilbert Barona v. Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Samantha Cohen, Nuan CuiMedical Malpractice document preview
  • Theresa Barona, Gilbert Barona v. Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Samantha Cohen, Nuan CuiMedical Malpractice document preview
  • Theresa Barona, Gilbert Barona v. Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Samantha Cohen, Nuan CuiMedical Malpractice document preview
  • Theresa Barona, Gilbert Barona v. Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Samantha Cohen, Nuan CuiMedical Malpractice document preview
  • Theresa Barona, Gilbert Barona v. Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Samantha Cohen, Nuan CuiMedical Malpractice document preview
  • Theresa Barona, Gilbert Barona v. Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Samantha Cohen, Nuan CuiMedical Malpractice document preview
						
                                

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(FILED: BRONX COUNTY CLERK 0270472016 04:27 PM INDEX NO. 20740/2013E NYSCEF DOC. N 40 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/04/2016 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF BRONX THERESA BARONA and GILBERT BARONA, AFFIRMATION IN Plaintiffs, OPPOSITION ~against~ Index No. 20740/13 MAIMONIDES MEDICAL CENTER and MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER, Hon. Stanley Green Defendants. JONATHAN R. RATCHIK, an attorney duly admitted to practice law before the Courts of the State of New York, affirms the truth of the following statements under the penalty of perjury: I Tam a partner with the firm of KRAMER & DUNLEAVY, L.L.P., attorneys for the plaintiffs THERESA BARONA and GILBERT BARONA in the above-captioned action. 42 Tam fully familiar with the facts and circumstances hereinafter set forth, said knowledge having been gained through a review of the file on this matter maintained at our offices. 3 This affirmation, the affirmation of plaintiff’s expert colorectal surgeon and affidavit of plaintiff’s expert interventional radiologist! are submitted in opposition to the summary judgment motion of defendant Montefiore ' The names of plaintiffs’ experts have been redacted so as not to reveal their identity. An unredacted version of the affirmation will be submitted to the Court under separate cover. RAMER & DUNLEAVY, LLLP 1 1 Broadway ~ Suite 2220, few York, New York 10006 (212) 226-8662 Medical Center which seeks an order dismissing plaintiffs’ claims against it and for such other relief as the Court may deem just and proper. 4 An order denying defendant Montefiore’s motion for summary judgment is warranted on the grounds that material issues of fact exist as to whether this defendant: 1 departed from good and accepted medical standards in the community by failing to identify the cause of plaintiffs post- operative infection, namely a perforation in her colon, an injury which the defendant should have ruled out when plaintiff presented to the emergency room with complaints of severe abdominal pain, fever and multiple collections in the abdomen, and further suspected given the continued presence of free intraperitoneal air in the upper abdomen on September 3, 2012; ii. departed from good and accepted medical standards in the community by treating plaintiffs infection solely with antibiotics, which was inappropriate without a full understanding of the infection’s pathophysiology, by failing to surgically repair the injury to her colon, and by failing to drain the anterior collections of fluid / gas that were present on the August 31, 2012 CT scan of plaintiff’s abdomen / pelvis; and iii. whether such departures were substantial factors in worsening plaintiff’s injury by prolonging her infection, causing the subject collections of fluid / gas to grow in size, and in causing plaintiff to develop an SRAMER & DUNLEAVY, LLP. 31 Broadway ~ Suite 2220 Mew York, NewYork 10006 (212) 226-6662 enterocutaneous fistula (a communication between the colon and the skin), together with the pain and suffering associated therewith. A. Defendant Montefiore departs from good and accepted medical practices by failing to identify the cause of Theresa Barona’s sepsis and to rule out an injury to her colon and failing to drain anterior collections of fluid and gas that were present on the August 28, 2012 CT scan. 5. On August 28, 2012, plaintiff Theresa Barona, then forty-nine (49) years old, underwent a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy at Maimonides Medical Center, a surgery that entailed the removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes (Def. Exhibit “I”). According to the operative note, there were dense colonic adhesions to the posterior uterus, bilateral adnexa and bilateral pelvic sidewalls. In order to resect a right adnexal mass, extensive lysis of adhesions was performed with both sharp and blunt dissection. FloSeal, a hemostatic agent used to control bleeding, was used near the right pelvic sidewall at the site of the adnexal resection. Mrs. Barona was discharged that same day with instructions to call her physician (Dr. Cohen) if she developed a fever or severe pain. 6 Three (3) days later, on August 31, 2012, Mrs. Barona presented to Montefiore Medical Center with a septic course manifested by complaints of severe abdominal pain, a fever of 99.5 which spiked to 102.6 while she was in the emergency room, and an episode of vomiting (Def. Exhibit “H”). She had peritoneal signs at that time, including tenderness and mild abdominal distension, and a white blood cell count that was elevated at 12.0, KRAMER & DUNLEAVY, LLP. 61 Broadway ~ Suite 2220 NewYork, New York 10006 (212) 226-6662 evidence of a possible infection. CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis with oral and intravenous contrast revealed a small to moderate amount of intraperitoneal free air and sizable anterior collections of fluid and gas. Given her symptoms and the findings on CT scan, Mrs. Barona was admitted to the hospital and placed on intravenous antibiotics (Zosyn). 7 In a departure from good and accepted medical standards of care, defendant failed to perform additional imaging to determine the source of Mrs. Barona’s sepsis and to rule out any bowel injury (Colorectal Affidavit, § 20).? In a properly performed gynecologic surgery there should not be any injury to the bowel. When a patient undergoes gynecologic surgery and, three (3) days later, develops severe abdominal pain, a fever and multiple collections in the abdomen, it is incumbent to rule out an enteric course of infection, i.e. an injury to the small bowel or colon. This holds particularly true when the patient, such as Mrs. Barona, undergoes a surgical procedure in which the operative report note specifically mentions “dense adhesions to the colon” (Colorectal Affidavit, { 20). 8 Additionally, in a further departure from good and accepted medical standards of care, defendant failed to drain the anterior collections of fluid / gas that were present on the August 31, 2012 CT scan (IR Affidavit, § 20). Contrary to the position of the defendant, these collections could ? Plaintiffs’ expert colorectal surgeon was previously identified in plaintiffs’ Response to CPLR § 3101 (d) Demand, dated June 18, 2015 (Def. Exhibit “F”).