Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center failed to provide proper medical care, leaving a man with permanent nerve damage and a foot drop, a lawsuit said.
Robert Rines, of Pittsfield, filed a lawsuit saying EMMC, Northern Light Cardiology and two unknown employees of the hospital system did not provide adequate care during a surgery, leaving him permanently injured.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 18 in Penobscot County Superior Court, said there was professional negligence from the unknown employees, the hospital and the cardiology department. It also said there is vicarious liability for EMMC and the cardiology department for the actions of the unknown employees.
Rines is not asking for a specific amount of money. He wants the judgment to be determined after a trial.
The hospital and cardiology department denied the allegations in Sept. 13 filings. They said the injuries Rines allegedly sustained were from risks he assumed, and that negligence from Rines was greater than or equal to the alleged negligence from EMMC and the cardiology department.
In October 2020, Rines went to an emergency room and was transferred to EMMC for a lateral myocardial infarction. He had an urgent heart catheterization, which found severe triple coronary artery disease, according to court documents.
Two days after a bypass grafting, his condition had worsened and he was taken into surgery, Oct. 28, 2020. During the surgery an Impella catheter was placed in his right femoral artery.
Rines’ leg was restrained during the placement, which is common, the lawsuit said. The stabilization device became too tight during the procedure and Rines developed a severe open wound on his knee and calf.
He then developed “permanent nerve injury and permanent foot drop,” the lawsuit said.
The standard of care was breached by the placement of the stabilization device and by the lack of monitoring to ensure there was no blood flow impeded or compression on the peroneal nerve, the lawsuit said.
The hospital and cardiology department is “at fault for not properly training nurses, cath lab techs, or other employees,” the lawsuit said, adding the nerve injury was “completely preventable” and caused Rines to suffer physical, emotional and economic harm.
All sides waived the medical malpractice screening panel. No future court dates are scheduled.
