Sample Work
Medical Malpractice Complaints
These complaints follow the approach I developed. I wrote most of these complaints. Mauricio Gonzalez, a superb attorney, wrote several of them while we worked together. The sections below indicate the author of the particular complaints.
Crosby v. Phoebe Putney, et al
Delay in informing a patient of hip-fracture diagnosis
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Vickie Lynn Crosby went to the Emergency Department at Phoebe Worth Medical Center, after falling and hurting her leg. A radiologist identified fractures in her toes and hip (the femoral neck). No one at Phoebe Worth communicated that information to Vickie or her primary care provider for nearly a month. By the time she received treatment, her condition had worsened significantly, requiring more invasive surgery and resulting in permanent mobility impairment.
Documents:
Complaint: pdf of the filed complaint; text only
Como v. The Emory Clinic, et al
Delay in diagnosing a bone-destroying lesion in the foot
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Patient John Como received an Exactech ankle implant in 2018, which was later subject to a recall notice in 2022. The recall warned that the implant could cause bone-destroying lesions. Despite being aware of the Exactech recall, between November 2022 and May 2023, Dr. Sameh Labib and Dr. Rohan Bhimani repeatedly failed to diagnose a growing cystic lesion beneath Como's talus implant visible on multiple X-rays, . The lesion doubled in size before being diagnosed in June 2024, requiring more extensive surgery.
Documents:
Complaint: pdf of the filed complaint; text only
Corbin v. Choice Podiatry Center, et al
Malpractice in bunion surgery
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Richard Corbin, underwent bunion surgery on October 14, 2022, performed by Dr. Vivian Iwu. The surgery and follow-up care were negligent, resulting in non-union of the patient's toes. Key issues include failure to use hardware to fix severed bones, lack of proper post-operative care, and failure to diagnose or inform the patient of non-union. The plaintiff eventually required revision surgeries by another surgeon.
Documents:
Complaint: pdf of the filed complaint; text only
Fey v. Piedmont Healthcare, Inc., et al
Delay in responding to a CT imaging showing a potential abscess
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Anna Fey went to the emergency room at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital with severe pain in her lower back. A CT showed a possible abscess in her lower back, and the radiology report suggested follow-up imaging to confirm or rule out an abscess. Inexplicably, the Piedmont physician discharged Anna without investigating the possibility of an abscess (which could lead to life-threatening sepsis).
Documents:
Complaint: pdf of the filed complaint; text only
Crawford v. Piedmont Healthcare, Inc., et al
Wrongful death because of delay in responding to a post-operative hematoma in the neck
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Dorothy Crawford underwent a thyroidectomy at Piedmont Augusta Hospital. One well-known complication of the surgery is bleeding in the neck that forms a hematoma that compresses the windpipe. That can suffocate the patient, causing brain injury or death. That can happen fast. So it is critical for any hospital that offers neck surgery to make sure their staff are properly trained and instructed to respond immediately at the first sign of bleeding in the neck or difficulty breathing. Piedmont Augusta did not do that. Because of that, Dorothy Crawford suffocated after surgery, suffered profound brain injury, and lingered in the hospital for weeks before she died.
Documents:
Complaint: pdf of the filed complaint; text only
Jones v. Piedmont Healthcare, Inc., et al
Leg amputation because of delay in treating a thrombectomy
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: After undergoing a thrombectomy, Jeremy Jones suffered a blood clot that cut off the blood supply to his leg. Jeremy was in the hospital, in an intensive care unit. The clot was easily identifiable and treatable. But even after signs of the clot became obvious, several providers failed to promptly examine, investigate, and treat the problem. This caused significant delays that ultimately led to Jeremy's leg having to be amputated above the knee. The Corporate Defendants failed to implement adequate policies, procedures, and practices to ensure proper supervision of resident physicians and effective patient safety systems. These systemic failures contributed to the injuries suffered by patient Jeremy Jones, including an unnecessary leg amputation.
Documents:
Original Complaint: pdf of the filed complaint; text only
First Amended Complaint: pdf of the filed complaint; text only
Doner v. Intermountain Health Care, Inc., et al
Wrongful death because of over-medication with ketamine, followed by failure to enable the patient to breathe
Author: Mauricio Gonzalez
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Nineteen-year-old Gwen Doner suffered a fatal anoxic brain injury due to the negligence of EMS providers. After a vehicular collision, the EMS providers injected Gwen with over 16 times the maximum dose of ketamine, causing her to go into respiratory arrest. The EMS providers on the scene were unable to provide ventilation for 7-9 minutes. Gwen suffered a fatal brain injury because she was deprived of oxygen for so long. Later, the hospital concealed the true cause of Gwen's death — the errors committed by the EMS providers.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Holloway v. Emory Healthcare, Inc., et
Forty percent loss of small intestine because of delay in treating a bowel obstruction
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Linda Holloway went to the Emergency Department with what a CT scan showed to be a suspected closed-loop bowel obstruction. Such an obstruction is a surgical emergency. The consulting surgeon, Dr. Cheickna Diarra, failed to treat it as an emergency. Instead, he left Linda to wait overnight. The next morning, the oncoming surgeon, Dr. Darryl Tookes, also failed to promptly attend to Linda, leading to additional delay. These delays resulted in Linda losing 40% of her small intestine. Emory Healthcare contributed to the harm through administrative negligence, including failure to address nighttime care problems, ineffective patient hand-off systems, lack of a culture of safety, inadequate training on medical errors and patient rights, lack of protocols for urgent CT scans, insufficient nurse training on medical issues, and failure to implement proper patient grievance and sentinel event processes. These administrative failures, both simple and sophisticated, contributed to the delays and errors that ultimately harmed Linda.
Documents:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Shepherd v. Wellstar Health System, Inc., et al
Sepsis and chronic abdominal pain because of botched gallbladder surgery & delay in treatment
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Dr. Grant Taylor performed an unnecessary cholecystectomy surgery on Skyla Britt without her informed consent. Dr. Taylor misrepresented the need for the surgery, which was directly contrary to Skyla's medical presentation and carried known risks of complications. The surgery caused Skyla significant physical, mental, and emotional harm, including from the surgery itself, subsequent medical treatment, and complications like bile leak and sepsis. After severe complications developed, multiple healthcare providers at Wellstar failed to investigate and treat Skyla’s condition, leading to harmful delay. The corporate defendants in this case committed administrative negligence by failing to ensure proper communication and coordination between healthcare providers, leading to gaps that caused harm to Skyla.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Pamela Hay v. Atlanta Brain & Spine Care, et al
Chronic pain because of botched spine surgery
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: A spine surgeon must act with meticulous care in placing hardware into a patient’s spine. Dr. Roger Frankel violated this requirement in performing surgery on Pamela Hay. He incorrectly inserted an implant and screws, failed to check for proper placement, and left the misplaced hardware in place. This caused Pamela excruciating pain. Despite Pamela’s reports of severe pain during recovery, Dr. Frankel — and his partners, Dr. Steven Wray and Dr. David Benglis — dismissed Pamela’s concerns. None of the three surgeons ordered imaging to figure out the cause of Pamela’s abnormal pain. As a result, it was months before the cause was investigated. By then, it was too late to fix the cause. Pamela was left with serious, permanent, pain and disability.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Sampson v. Doctors Hospital of Augusta, LLC, et al
Chronic sacral pressure wound and bone infection because of failure to prevent (and then treat) the wound
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Dorothy Anthony suffers from Downs Syndrome and was housed at Doctors Hospital of Augusta (DHA) pending placement in a nursing home. Dorothy was at high risk of developing pressure wounds. Despite repeatedly noting the presence of pressure wounds, the nurse and physician staff did essentially nothing to treat the wounds and prevent them from worsening. By the time any physician provided treatment, Dorothy had a deep, infected wound on her buttock area. The wound has never healed. It is chronic, and debilitating.
Document:
Original Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
First Amended Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
So v. Ortho Sport & Spine Physicians, et al
Multiple disabilities because of botched cervical epidural spinal injection (CESI)
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Ortho Sport & Spine Physicians violated the standard of care in their treatment of 63-year-old patient Henry So, leading to a catastrophic spinal cord injury. The doctors failed to properly inform Henry of the risks, failed to conduct adequate examinations, used improper sedation, and ignored signs that the needle had entered Henry’s spinal cord during the cervical epidural steroid injections and nerve block procedures. As a result, Mr. So suffered permanent neurological deficits.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Yarbrough v. Gwinnett Hospital System, Inc., et al
Wrongful death because of failure to obtain medical clearance from a cardiologist before elective surgery
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Ronald Yarbrough, a 64-year-old man, died in July 2019 after suffering complications from an elective colon surgery performed in June 2019. Before the surgery, Ron’s cardiologist, Dr. Lance Friedland, misinformed Ron about his heart health. Ron had undergone CT Calcium imaging that showed a major blockage in one of Ron’s coronary arteries. Dr. Friedland had told Ron the CT score showed no cause for concern. So before the colon surgery, Ron did not inform the colon surgeon of his heart condition. After the colon surgery, Ron suffered a heart attack caused by “demand ischemia.” In essence, the surgery increased the demand on Ron’s heart, and the arterial blockage prevented the heart muscle from getting enough blood (and oxygen). Ron underwent cardiac surgery, but the damage was irreversible. Ron died in the hospital.
Document:
Original Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
First Amended Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
Second Amended Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
Vang v. St. Mary’s Health Care System, Inc., et al
Wrongful death because of failure to treat a post-operative hematoma in the neck
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Kang Moua, a 38-year-old mother of two little girls, underwent a routine thyroidectomy. Post-operative bleeding in the neck — and a hematoma that chokes the airway and suffocates the patient — is a known complication of a thyroidectomy. While recovering in the hospital after the surgery, a rapidly expanding hematoma formed in Kang’s neck. She became unable to breathe. Her husband yelled for the nurses to come. A nurse called a Code Blue. After several minutes of delay, a nurse called the on-call ENT surgeon. He instructed that the sutures on Kang’s neck be cut, to allow the blood an escape route and relieve pressure on Kang’s windpipe. The emergency department physician running the Code Blue refused to cut the sutures. By the time the ENT surgeon arrived, Kang had been without oxygen for several minutes and had suffered a profound brain injury. She never regained consciousness. She died a couple days later.
Documents:
Original Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
First Amended Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
Oh v. Wellstar Health System, Inc., et al
Wrongful death because of failure to identify and treat a major chyle leak
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Byung (Ben) Oh passed away at the age of 77 after receiving negligent care at Wellstar's Atlanta Medical Center. After spine surgery, Mr. Oh had a major chyle leak. The medical staff of the hospital failed Mr. Oh in multiple ways — chiefly, by doing nothing to investigate or offer treatment as liter after liter of whitish fluid drained out of a suprapubic catheter intended to drain urine. In total, over 50 liters of whitish fluid drained from the suprapubic catheter over 11 days. The leak caused sepsis and multi-organ damage that eventually caused Mr. Oh's death.
Document:
Original Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
Fourth Amended Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
Bhimbra v. Southeast Lung & Critical Care Specialists, et al
Wrongful death because of failure to diagnose and treat a stroke
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Harvinder Kaur was brought to the emergency department at St. Joseph's Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, with symptoms consistent with a stroke. The emergency room physician, Dr. Michael A. Errico, failed to properly evaluate and diagnose Mrs. Kaur's stroke, and did not administer the appropriate treatment, including TPA. As a result, Mrs. Kaur suffered serious physical injury and ultimately died.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Lane v. Emory Healthcare Inc, et al
Multiple disabilities because of delay in treating a stroke
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Stefan Lane suffered three transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) within 8 hours, which were not properly recognized or treated by the medical staff at Emory Johns Creek Hospital. Despite neurological monitoring orders and a neurology consultation request, the nursing staff failed to implement the monitoring for 16 hours. When a neurologist finally assessed Stefan, the neurologist suspected a conversion disorder rather than stroke, missing the opportunity for urgent stroke treatment. As a result, Stefan did not receive any treatment for the stroke he was suffering, which was confirmed by an MRI two days later. The multiple, repeated delays left Stefan with significant permanent disabilities.
Documents:
Original Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
First Amended Complaint: click here for a pdf.
Second Amended Complaint: click here for a pdf; click here for a text-only version.
Robinson v. Kennestone Hospital, Inc., et al
Multiple disabilities because of delay in treating transverse myelitis in spinal cord
Author: Dan Holloway
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Damien Robinson, a previously healthy 18-year-old, went to the emergency department at WellStar Kennestone Hospital with neurological symptoms including chest pain, numbness, and weakness. The consulting neurologist, Dr. James Armstrong, should have ordered an MRI with contrast of Damien’s entire spine, and should have considered the possibility of transverse myelitis. Dr. Armstrong did neither. Instead, he prematurely diagnosed Damien with conversion disorder, a psychiatric condition. This caused a delay in diagnosing and treating the transverse myelitis and caused Damien serious, permanent neurological injuries.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Storey v. Wellstar Health System, Inc., et al
Wrongful death because, after suffering a serious but non-fatal car crash, hospital staff failed to protect and maintain the patient’s airway
Author: Mauricio Gonzalez
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Waymon Storey, a 53-year-old man, was involved in a car accident and taken to Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center with severe chest trauma. The emergency department physician, Dr. Richisa Salazar, failed to recognize the severity of his condition and did not promptly intubate him or take other measures to secure his airway. When Storey went into respiratory arrest, the trauma team also failed to emergently intubate him or perform a surgical airway procedure. The nurses caring for Storey also failed to closely monitor his vital signs. Storey died at the hospital due to the oxygen deprivation caused by the failure to properly manage his airway and respiratory status.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Mainor v. Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, Inc., et al
Wrongful death of a child, because of failure to treat — and then mistreatment — of a bowel obstruction
Author: Mauricio Gonzalez
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Fifteen-year-old Sequoyah Mainor went to the ER with severe constipation and a three-week history of no bowel movements. She was evaluated by Dr. Michael Greenwald, who recognized that Sequoyah had a "substantial obstruction from stool." Dr. Greenwald attempted an enema and digital disimpaction, but both were unsuccessful in clearing the obstruction. Despite Sequoyah's deteriorating condition, with increasing pain, tachycardia, and inability to walk, Dr. Greenwald discharged her home with instructions to take a high-dose laxative regimen and follow up with a gastroenterologist within two weeks. The nurses caring for Sequoyah, including Nurse Gabriel Ribeiro, failed to advocate for her to remain in the hospital for further treatment. Over the next 46 hours, Sequoyah's condition worsened at home. On June 22, she began vomiting blood and was rushed back to the CHOA emergency department in critical condition. She underwent emergency surgery, but suffered cardiac arrest and multiple organ failure. After resuscitation efforts, she was declared dead on June 23 at the age of 15.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Ratchford v. Emory Healthcare, Inc., et al
Spine injury because of failure to identify and treat a spinal epidural hematoma in the ICU
Author: Mauricio Gonzalez
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Yolanda Ratchford suffered severe and permanent neurological injuries due to negligence at Emory University Hospital. Vascular surgeon Dr. Olamide Alabi performed a thrombectomy procedure. Over the next 24 hours, while in the intensive care unit, Ratchford exhibited signs of bleeding and neurological deficits, including back pain, weakness in her lower extremities, and decreased sensation. However, the healthcare providers failed to properly monitor Ratchford's condition, recognize the signs of a spinal epidural hematoma, and intervene in a timely manner. The next day, Ratchford was found to have an extensive spinal epidural hematoma causing severe spinal cord compression. She underwent emergency decompressive laminectomy surgery, but by that point, the delay in diagnosis and treatment had resulted in irreversible nerve damage and permanent neurological deficits.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Brown v. St. Francis Health, LLC, et al
Wrongful death because of an unnecessary colon surgery, leading to post-operative bowel leak, which hospital staff failed to address before fatal sepsis set in
Author: Mauricio Gonzalez
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Jeffrey Brown, a 49-year-old man, underwent a transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) in November 2019 to remove a large rectal lesion that was found to contain a stage-T1 adenocarcinoma. Pathology confirmed the lesion was completely excised with clear margins. However, despite these findings, the surgeon, Dr. William Taylor, recommended that Jeffrey undergo a major lower anterior resection (LAR) surgery just a few weeks later. Jeffrey took Dr. Taylor’s recommendation. During the surgery, Dr. Taylor encountered several complications, including an anastomotic leak that required hand-sewn repair. After the surgery, Jeffrey developed an anastomotic leak that led to fecal peritonitis. Over the next few days, the fecal leak was evident from drainage in Jeffrey's surgical drain, but Dr. Taylor and the intensivists caring for him failed to promptly diagnose the leak or achieve timely surgical source control. They also failed to treat Jeffrey with antibiotics in the immediate postoperative period. By the time the hospital staff responded, it was too late. Jeff died from multi-organ failure due to sepsis.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Smith v. Hamilton Medical Center, Inc.
Wrongful death because of failure to identify and treat a brainstem stroke
Author: Mauricio Gonzalez
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Twenty-six-year-old Michaela Smith went to the ER at Hamilton Medical Center. Michaela had signs and symptoms of a stroke. Although two radiology studies and her clinical presentation indicated that Michaela was having a catastrophic stroke, Defendants repeatedly misread the studies as normal, failed to diagnose the stroke, failed to treat her deficits as a neurological emergency, and failed to treat the stroke with a thrombectomy or otherwise, causing her death.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Doggett v. Tift Regional Health System, Inc., et al
Wrongful death because of failure to diagnose and treat a heart attack
Author: Mauricio Gonzalez
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Charlene Doggett, an otherwise healthy 63-year-old mother and grandmother, came to the Tift emergency room (“ER” or “ED”) with severe chest pain, and had a heart attack at the hospital. Even though he found that Charlene’s right coronary artery (“RCA”) was completely blocked, Cardiologist Paul Murray failed to refer her to a hospital, unlike Tift, with the capability to clear or bypass the blockage. After being prematurely cleared by Cardiologist Jonathan Tronolone without treatment or further investigation, Charlene went home, only to return to the ER the next morning with a second, major heart attack. Dr. Murray then again failed to refer Charlene to another hospital. Despite overwhelming evidence, he failed even to diagnose this second heart attack. Instead, even though Tift lacked both the capability and a plan to provide Charlene definitive care, Internist Cynthia Phillips admitted her to Tift, where she died gradually and painfully from an untreated heart attack.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.
Ignelzi v. MAK Anesthesia, LLC, et al
Little girl’s face was burned during a surgery, because the surgeon and anesthesiologist did not communicate
Author: Mauricio Gonzalez
Summary: This complaint states as follows: Negligence here is plain: During a routine outpatient procedure to remove a tiny benign lesion from the eyelid of a little girl, the anesthesiologist failed to reduce and clear the oxygen-rich air in the surgical field, so that a fire broke out over the girl’s face when the surgeon turned on an electric cautery. As a result, the little girl, Anorah Ignelzi, suffered serious burns, underwent skin-graft surgery, still receives therapy for PTSD, and expects to have additional surgeries.
Document:
Click here for a pdf of the filed complaint.
Click here for the text of the complaint. Note: This text omits images contained in the pdf version.