Lopez McHugh Llp issued the following announcement on Jan. 30.
While you hear about medical malpractice cases involving adults or even elderly patients, cases involving children can be less visible in the media. When the medical malpractice injury of a child occurs, however, the events are no less shocking or life changing for those involved.
During a trial involving the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, an eight-person jury ordered the medical facility to pay $2 million in damages to a former patient of Dr. Atiq Durrani. Durrani, now a fugitive, was once a spinal surgeon who operated on the plaintiff when he was just a twelve year-old patient.
The jury found the hospital guilty of acting with malice by allowing Dr. Durrani to perform an improper and/or medically unnecessary spinal surgery on the minor child patient in 2012. The lawsuit alleged Durrani used a biologic device during surgery that was not FDA approved without informing the young patient or his family.
The suit also claimed the patient developed a staph infection after the operation when his incision tore open. This serious infection caused the patient to miss half of a year of school in order to receive intravenous antibiotics. Currently, the patient is dealing with pain more excruciating than the pain he suffered prior to his initial spinal surgery, and he is required to take pain medication and muscle relaxants to manage his symptoms.
Back in 2013, Durrani was indicted on 48 federal charges, including allegations he knowingly left a guide wire inside a patient during surgery and he let another doctor operate on a patient while using his name.
Durrani fled to Pakistan in December 2013, after he pled not guilty to the federal charges against him. More than 500 lawsuits have been filed against Dr. Durrani and the various hospitals at which he operated.
Original source can be found here.