PHILADELPHIA – Medical professionals involved in a surgery that is alleged to have resulted in his wife’s death from internal bleeding are seeking to dismiss negligence counts from the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the patient’s husband.
John Raymond initially filed his complaint Feb. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Named defendants include Amanda Lieberman, the physician assistant who performed the procedure, as well as Dr. Errin Hoffman, Good Shepherd Specialty Hospital and Lehigh Valley Hospital.
According to the complaint, Diane Raymond was diagnosed on March 7, 2018, with excessive fluid between membrane layers surrounding her right lung.
John Raymond alleged medical officials ordered a surgery without informed consent from him or his wife, and Lieberman performed an ultrasound-guided thoracentesis on March 8, during which she “cut, sliced and otherwise damaged Diane Raymond’s liver, veins, arteries and/or other internal organs,” but did not recognize or acknowledge that reality while preparing a report of a successful surgery.
Hoffman reviewed Lieberman’s notes a few hours after the surgery and concurred with her assessment. That afternoon, Diane Raymond was transferred from Good Shepherd to Lehigh Valley Hospital in critical condition. Although doctors recognized the internal bleeding, Raymond she into cardiac arrest and died within an hour.
On May 1, Lieberman and Hoffman filed a motion to dismiss the claims of professional negligence against them, due to certificates of merit not being filed with the original complaint.
“In his complaint, plaintiff alleges, in part, that Dr. Hoffman, ‘failed to possess that degree of skill, care and knowledge and experience ordinarily exercised and possessed by the average qualified physician.’ Similarly, Plaintiff alleges, in part, that Ms. Lieberman, ‘failed to possess that degree of skill, care and knowledge and experience ordinarily exercised and possessed by the average qualified physician assistant,” according to the doctors’ dismissal motion.
“Because plaintiff’s claims against moving defendants are rooted in professional negligence, plaintiff in this case was required to file a certificate of merit in accordance with Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure 1042.3. Despite having filed a document purporting to be an ‘Affidavit of Merit’ with regard to each moving defendant, plaintiff has failed to comply with the requirements of Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure 1042.3.”
The dismissal motion further counters by explaining the plaintiff’s complaints are signed by an expert witness, Craig A. Nachbauer, M.D., a thoracic surgeon who is only Board-certified in that capacity and not in the same medical discipline as defendant Hoffman, radiology.
“Under the MCARE Act, plaintiff’s expert witness, Dr. Nachbauer, would not be qualified to offer opinions regarding the standard of care for an interventional radiologist at trial, and he is therefore not qualified to serve as the ‘appropriate licensed professional’ to supply a written statement regarding moving defendants’ compliance with the standard of care,” the motion states.
Likewise, the motion explains Dr. Nachbauer is likewise not qualified to provide a standard of care opinion as to Ms. Lieberman, a radiology physician’s assistant.
“Under the MCARE Act, Dr. Nachbauer would not be qualified to offer opinions regarding the standard of care for a physician’s assistant specializing in radiology or interventional radiology at trial; therefore, he is not qualified to serve as the ‘appropriate licensed professional’ to supply a written statement regarding Ms. Lieberman’s compliance with the standard of care,” the motion adds.
The hospital filed a motion the very same day to dismiss counts of lack of informed consent/battery, negligent infliction of emotional distress, survival action on behalf of plaintiff, Mr. Raymond, individually, survival action on behalf of the Estate, loss of consortium and all requests for punitive damages.
The 21-count complaint seeks compensatory damages and a jury trial.
The plaintiffs are represented by Scott M. Wilhelm of Winegar Wilhelm Glynn & Roemersma, in Phillipsburg, N.J.
The defendants are represented by Gregory S. Nesbitt and Laurie B. Shannon of Kilcoyne & Associates in Blue Bell, plus Howard S. Stevens, Jennifer L. Weed and Samuel Ezra Cohen of Gross McGinley, in Allentown.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 5:20-cv-00959
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com