Cardiologist ordered to pay $2.6M after foreign material left in patient’s femoral artery

Michael Walter | June 01, 2023 | Cardiovascular Business | Economics

The long legal saga of Richard Paulus, a Kentucky cardiologist accused of performing unnecessary cardiac procedures, appears to still be going strong in 2022 and might be reviewed by the Supreme Court. The New York state radiologist is facing 36 misdemeanor counts for secret sexual recording without consent, according to a story in the Boston Herald.

An Indiana cardiologist has been ordered by a jury to pay $2.6 million in damages after a cardiac catheterization gone wrong left a patient’s leg permanently disfigured.

Shashi Ahuja, MD, performed the procedure in 2012 on Zandra A. Chapman at St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. According to a detailed report from local news channel Wane 15, a small piece of foreign material was left in Chapman’s femoral artery after the procedure. The material was found to be polymer that broke off from a device used during a procedure that caused a clot and then embolized to another area of the leg.

This resulted in significant discomfort, which Chapman told Ahuja’s office about multiple times, but she was never asked to come in for a follow-up. Three days later, when the pain got much worse, she underwent emergency surgery for the issue; the foreign material was identified and removed at that time.

Chapman’s leg remains disfigured to this day.

“Her right leg is constantly swollen,” according to court documents quoted by Wane 15. “Her activities of daily life have been significantly impaired by the deficits in her right leg.”

It took several years for Chapman’s lawsuit, which originally included other healthcare providers in addition to Ahuja, to reach its conclusion.

Click the link below for the full story:

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Michael Walter, Managing Editor

Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.

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