Did you know that filing a malpractice suit against a doctor who has damaged your health is actually good for other patients as well? It’s true! But how exactly does this work?
Enough malpractice suits against a doctor can cause a hospital to let go of that doctor, preventing him or her from needlessly hurting other patients. Unfortunately, such suits often need a certain amount of publicity before a hospital will take action.
Let’s look at the case of Dr. Leonard Janis in Ohio.
Numerous Lawsuits for Numerous Unnecessary Surgeries
Between 2009 and 2012, Dr. Janis had eleven lawsuits filed against him! Five of them go so far as to name Grand Medical Center and/or OhioHealth (the parent company of the medical center) in the suit.
Dr. Janis performed multiple foot and ankles surgeries on his patients–surgeries that were likely unnecessary. Let’s look at some examples.
From Foot Pain to Amputation
Take, for example, the case of Beth Mullens. She is a young grandmother at age 51. Though she had some pain in her foot, she was still able to move around and play with her grandchildren.
She went to get surgery for the pain in her foot. Eight operations later, her leg was removed below her knee! Now she is forced to rely on a wheelchair and a walker, and can no longer run and play with her grandchildren.
Mullens isn’t the only victim of irresponsible medical care. One woman broke her ankle in 2005, and had half of her left leg taken off by Janis in 2011!
How Patients’ Lawsuits Keep Justice in the System
There are other cases of patients who had minor injuries when they first visited the doctor, such as one patient who had 13 surgeries on the same ankle.
The important thing to keep in mind is that lawsuits can help keep doctors from hurting more patients. Dr. Janis was eventually forced to resign from Grand Medical, due to all the negative publicity from the lawsuits.
If you’ve been a victim of irresponsible medical care, you owe it both to yourself and to your community to seek legal advice, and prevent malpractice from happening in the future.
Contact Snyder and Snyder today and get a free consultation from a skilled medical malpractice attorney that is serving the Maryland area.