Here are nine anesthesiologist lawsuits that Becker’s has reported on since Jan. 1:
1. A Florida physician has been charged with felony possession of fentanyl after allegedly extracting it from a patient’s IV line at HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce. Sasha Grek, MD, an anesthesiologist, allegedly used a syringe to extract liquid fentanyl from a patient’s IV line while working overnight in the hospital’s ICU in December 2024. Dr. Grek’s actions were allegedly recorded on surveillance footage and on a nurse’s cellphone.
Hospital staff immediately alerted law enforcement of the incident. An internal review confirmed discrepancies in medication, leading to a subsequent investigation and ultimately the filing of a single felony count against Dr. Grek.
2. A jury in Baltimore has awarded more than $8 million to the family of a man who died following a routine endoscopy procedure. The 43-year-old patient allegedly underwent twilight sedation for a routine endoscopy for a bariatric surgery clearance. The patient’s oxygen saturation, respiration and heart rate dropped shortly after the procedure began. The law firm claims that the defendants did not respond appropriately for eight to 12 minutes.
The defendant anesthesiologist did not attempt intubation despite a “clear need” for it, according to the release. A second anesthesiologist then entered the procedure room and immediately performed intubation. The patient never regained consciousness and died days later due to a brain injury resulting from the lack of oxygen caused by airway mismanagement.
3. An anesthesiologist currently on probation for drug use at work is facing potential license revocation. The California Medical Board filed a complaint on April 3 alleging that Anna Bowling, MD, violated several terms of her probation.
These violations include failing to complete required drug and alcohol testing on two occasions in 2024, including once in January, failing to ensure her workplace monitor submitted mandatory reports and failing to provide a required fluid sample in May 2023.
Dr. Bowling’s medical license was placed on a seven-year probation in March 2024. This disciplinary action followed a 2022 incident in which she injected herself with an anesthetic while at work to continue treating patients.
4. A jury in St. Louis has sided with Chesterfield, Mo.-based St. Luke’s Hospital and one of its anesthesiologists in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a woman who suffered a traumatic brain injury and later died following an April 2023 surgery.
The patient, Briana Moore, suffered a heart attack during an outpatient endometrial ablation, Greg Minana, the hospital’s attorney, told the publication. She reportedly never recovered from the procedure and was in a vegetative state and under 24-hour care for two years before her death.
Mr. Minana contended that Ms. Moore stopped breathing for 11 minutes and Lisa Nadeau, DO, an anesthesiologist and a defendant in the case, failed to recognize and treat this. He also alleged that Dr. Nadeau falsified medical records.
5. Gerhardt Konig, MD, an anesthesiologist with practice privileges at Maui Memorial Medical Center, is being charged with second-degree attempted murder after police said he tried to kill his wife along a hiking trail in Honolulu.
Honolulu police were called to a state park on March 24 after receiving reports that Dr. Konig attempted to push his wife off of the trail during a hike and struck her head multiple times with a rock. His wife was taken to a Honolulu hospital and remains in critical condition, according to the report. Dr. Konig is in custody with a $5 million bail.
6. A St. Louis County jury ruled in favor of Midwest Anesthesia Providers in a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging wrongful death. The jury found the anesthesia group not liable in the $2.6 million suit brought by the deceased patient’s wife.
The plaintiff claimed that an anesthesiologist mistakenly placed an endotracheal tube into her husband’s esophagus during emergency surgery, leading to cardiorespiratory arrest and death. The defense argued that the true cause of death was a mucus plug obstruction, which was visible on a CT scan taken hours before the anesthesiologist treated the patient.
7. Houston-based Northwest Anesthesiology and Pain Services agreed to pay $999,999 to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act and Stark law. From Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2021, Northwest Anesthesiology and Pain Services was paid approximately $1.8 million in bonus payments due to a contractor’s misconduct, where Medicare reimbursed for services rendered by its independently contracted pain management practices.
8. U.S. Anesthesia Partners Holdings and a Texas affiliate secured a pretrial victory in a discrimination lawsuit filed by former employee David Axmann, MD.
Dr. Axmann, an anesthesiologist, became a stockholder of USAP Holdings and an employee of Dallas-based USAP-Texas in 2017 after USAP acquired his previous employer. He alleged age discrimination following his termination. However, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that while Dr. Axmann initially established a case for age bias, USAP provided a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for his dismissal, citing multiple complaints about his performance and his refusal to participate in coaching.
9. Anesthesiology Consultants Exchange, the exclusive anesthesia provider for Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, Tenn., has alleged that its anesthesiologists repeatedly raised concerns about surgeons failing to comply with the hospital’s overlapping surgery policy.
In 2021, two former Erlanger orthopedic surgeons and the hospital’s former chief information officer filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act and the Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act. The suit claims that Erlanger physicians illegally billed government insurance for overlapping operations in which residents and interns completed surgeries alone, without proper oversight or patient consent.
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