News

Owosso woman awarded nearly $3M in suit

By CHRISTINA GUENTHNER Argus-Press Staff Writer

Friday, June 5, 2009 10:22 PM EDT

CORUNNA - A Shiawassee County jury awarded an Owosso woman nearly $3 million this past week following a medical malpractice lawsuit against Shiawassee Radiology Consultants, P.C.

The $2.978-million jury verdict in Sue Apsey's favor brought an end to a case that dated to 2000. The trial was delayed several years because of appeals through the court system.

Because of a state cap on the amount of money that can be awarded for non-economic damages, Apsey is not likely to receive all of the money. Apsey's attorney, Frank Mafrice, said a judge will reduce the award to the cap that applies, plus interest for the past nine years.

Apsey, who is now 65, filed the malpractice suit against Memorial Healthcare, Shiawassee Radiology and Dr. James H. Deering after she experienced a bowel leak during an operation to remove a cyst from her ovary in January 2000. The leak was not discovered for 10 days, despite imaging studies that were done during that time.

In addition, Apsey was given barium, a potentially toxic heavy metal used for imaging the intestines. The barium leaked into her abdomen, causing a chemical peritonitis, in addition to an underlying bacterial peritonitis.

“Using that barium was like throwing gas on a bonfire,” suggested Mafrice. “There really is no excuse for what happened.”

As a result of the peritonitis, the suit charged, Apsey underwent numerous surgeries, including two skin graft procedures. She was left with a large abdominal hernia and permanent disfiguring scars.

Though the jury did not find Deering personally negligent, it found the radiology group negligent through the conduct of its radiologist in failing to timely review and report the results of the CT scan and the X-rays of the small bowel and approving and administering barium.

Barb Holland, Memorial Healthcare business development manager, said there were no claims of negligence against Memorial in the verdict.

“As always, Memorial tries to ensure the safety of our patients at all times,” Holland said.

She said Shiawassee Radiology was the radiology provider for the hospital in 2000, but has not been its provider for more than five years.

Deering is not on the active staff at Memorial, but he is part of the hospital's consulting staff, Holland said.

The case has been active for so long because it was on appeal for several years awaiting a decision by the Michigan Supreme Court about legal issues regarding out-of-state affidavits.

Lower courts were unclear about whether a signed statement from an out-of-state doctor stating Apsey had a legitimate case was legal in Michigan.

The Supreme Court ruled the affidavit was legal, setting precedent for future cases involving out-of-state affidavits.

Mafrice said it is not uncommon to seek the opinion of doctors from outside the state during a medical malpractice suit.

“It is often difficult to get local doctors to testify against physicians,” he explained.

Holland said the trial looks like it will be appealed.

The attorney representing the radiology group was not available for comment by press time.

- Contact Christina Guenthner at 725-5136 extension 239 or cguenthner.arguspress@gmail.com. Post comments about this story online at www.argus-press.com.

Comment on this Story

Whatever wrote on Jun 20, 2009 12:24 AM:

" Yeah because the cyst wasn't going to kill her or cause any problems... wait. And yeah it is about the money because all these people that sue don't ever donate any money back to improve the process by which they were "damaged" by. "

glad she won wrote on Jun 10, 2009 7:57 PM:

" To the people who say 'this is too much money' to award someone for a 'human' mistake, I say this; if it were you who suffered at the hands of someone else you'd be demanding the same verdit and then some!!! "

Support for Healthcare wrote on Jun 7, 2009 8:47 AM:

" Before citizens make ignorant comments or thoughts that are not fact based they should think first. Memorial Healthcare is the largest employer in Shiawassee County and with the economy the way that it is, if Memorial isn't supported by community, then it too would be non-existent. Memorial has much to offer including expert physicians. Human error occurs at every healthcare institution and all that can happen is that they learn from errors and make sure it doesn't happen again. In tough times, communities need to pull together and this is a difficult time for all invovled. "

healthwise detroit wrote on Jun 6, 2009 9:43 PM:

" I wish doctors and hospitals cared as much about protecting patients from harm as they did about protecting themselves from lawsuits.

This is inexcusable.

I can only hope Attorney Mafrice will be there when I need him. "

js wrote on Jun 6, 2009 9:34 PM:

" No matter how good a surgeon,doctor, radiologist is, there is always chance for human error. I feel bad for Apsey also. I also think to say if you were dying you would take a chance to go to another hospital is foolish. If it were not for community hospitals such as Memorial, many people could possibly die, and thank God our community has a good hospital. None are perfect, although perfection should be the goal. And, i highly doubt money will completely compensate for Mrs. Apsey's suffering. I am sure the point of this trial is clear, it's not about money. "

jk wrote on Jun 6, 2009 8:41 AM:

" I feel sad for Sue Apsey because now they are going to keep appealing until she is dead and they don't have to pay. So sad. "

Concerned Citizen wrote on Jun 4, 2009 7:26 PM:

" Now I hope my family understands why I go out of town for a Doctor, and another hospital for treatment. If I was dying, I'd take my chance on making it to another hospital befor I'd go to Memorial. I've had lots of bad experiences there myself.. "