ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – St. Anthony’s Hospital and its parent company Baycare were sued May 30 along with two medical doctors for alleged negligence that occurred during a transmetatarsal amputation revision surgery.
Transmetatarsal amputation surgery typically removes a part of a patient’s foot due to hard-to-control infections caused by diseases. Sometimes a surgical revision of the first surgery is necessary.
On September 4, 2019, a patient received a transmetatarsal revision surgery overseen by two physicians, Dr. Adam Prawer, M.D., specializing in Family Medicine, and Dr. Tej J. Atluri, M.D., a specialist of Internal Medicine.
According to the lawsuit, on September 4, 2019, “Plaintiff’s surgeon specifically and clearly ordered that a wound vac be placed on a continuous basis following the surgery. Despite the surgeon’s clear orders to keep a continuous wound vac intact, to discharge the patient with a portable wound vac, and confirm that the wound vac at the skilled nursing facility had been arranged for and would be available, none of these things were done or confirmed prior to the patient being discharged.
Specifically, the discharge transfer paperwork was executed by ST. ANTHONY’S employees and/or agents, and signed by ATLURI, without a wound vac being selected in the paperwork for the transfer.”
The lawsuit continues that Dr. Prawer was the alleged attending physician at the skilled nursing facility who discontinued the wound vac order from the patient’s first surgeon without consulting with the surgeon or a qualified wound specialist.
When the patient arrived at Apollo Health and Rehabilitation Center on September 5, a day after his surgery, he subsequently suffered for several days with a growing infection that the missing wound vac is designed to help prevent. As a result, his infection required him to undergo a below-the-knee amputation.
The lawsuit consists of three Counts of “Negligence” against St. Anthony’s, Dr. Atluri, and Dr. Prawer. It also claims “Vicarious Liability” against Baycare Health System. Baycare’s website indicates it is ranked in the top 20% of large U.S. healthcare systems, according to IBM Watson Health’s “Top Health Systems.”
The plaintiff’s attorney is Marie Sartiano Schoeb of Busciglio, Sheridan and Schoeb, Tampa. The Free Press attempted to make contact with Ms. Schoeb, but there was no response.
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