Litigation Against Discredited Surgeon Moves Forward
Over the past couple of weeks, there have been more developments in the litigation against Dr. John King. If his name is not familiar to you, Dr. King was an orthopedic surgeon who practiced at what was formerly Putnam General Hospital (now CAMC Teays Valley Hospital) in Hurricane, West Virginia in 2002 and 2003. (You can Google him and learn much, much more.)
Although Dr. King only practiced at Putnam General for approximately seven months, he is a defendant in more than 110 medical malpractice lawsuits. The plaintiffs have also made claims against Putnam General Hospital, its former parent, Hospital Corporation of America, Inc., and other corporate entities within the HCA chain. Because of the number of cases and the complexity of the issues, the judges in Putnam County have been holding hearings on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. On June 13, Judge O. C. Spaulding of the Circuit Court of Putnam County, where more than 100 of the lawsuits against King have been filed, ruled that in the trial scheduled for next month, the plaintiffs’ lawyers would not be permitted to mention that Putnam General was formerly owned by Hospital Corporation of America, Inc. or that HCA agreed to pay an $840 million fine in December 2000 for alleged unlawful Medicare and Medicaid billing practices.
The trial next month deals with the plaintiffs’ allegations against Putnam General for negligent hiring and credentialing, and will determine whether Putnam General is a defendant in the medical malpractice trials against King that are scheduled to start in September.
On June 8, Judge Spaulding sealed all pleadings filed in the cases after that date, because of his concern that disinformation in the public record would contaminate the jury pool. He also issued a gag order preventing any lawyer in the case from talking with reporters.
The litigation against Dr. King has attracted quite a bit of attention, including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal on September 21, 2005, and extensive coverage in the Charleston Gazette and the Sunday Gazette-Mail.
Although Dr. King only practiced at Putnam General for approximately seven months, he is a defendant in more than 110 medical malpractice lawsuits. The plaintiffs have also made claims against Putnam General Hospital, its former parent, Hospital Corporation of America, Inc., and other corporate entities within the HCA chain. Because of the number of cases and the complexity of the issues, the judges in Putnam County have been holding hearings on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. On June 13, Judge O. C. Spaulding of the Circuit Court of Putnam County, where more than 100 of the lawsuits against King have been filed, ruled that in the trial scheduled for next month, the plaintiffs’ lawyers would not be permitted to mention that Putnam General was formerly owned by Hospital Corporation of America, Inc. or that HCA agreed to pay an $840 million fine in December 2000 for alleged unlawful Medicare and Medicaid billing practices.
The trial next month deals with the plaintiffs’ allegations against Putnam General for negligent hiring and credentialing, and will determine whether Putnam General is a defendant in the medical malpractice trials against King that are scheduled to start in September.
On June 8, Judge Spaulding sealed all pleadings filed in the cases after that date, because of his concern that disinformation in the public record would contaminate the jury pool. He also issued a gag order preventing any lawyer in the case from talking with reporters.
The litigation against Dr. King has attracted quite a bit of attention, including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal on September 21, 2005, and extensive coverage in the Charleston Gazette and the Sunday Gazette-Mail.
