As a result of an Ohio Supreme Court decision last year, doctors and other private practitioners can be granted immunity from lawsuits such as medical malpractice if they are employed by the state even on a part-time basis. Now, the family of a man who choked on his vomit, suffering brain damage and eventual death as a result of oxygen deprivation, must sue the state if they wish to recover damages for medical bills, funeral expenses, and mental suffering. The wrongful death claim is very modest, just $25,000, considering what the family has gone through.
The two doctors who were responsible for the man’s post-surgical care were “careless” and “negligent,” according to the suit, but because of their employment by the state as teachers of general surgery at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, they may not be liable for the suffering caused as a result. Instead, the Ohio Court of Claims must first make a decision on their immunity status. If the doctors are granted immunity status, the suit will fall on Ohio University. The family has also filed a case against the doctors’ private practice to be pursued if the Court of Claims decides they are not immune.
If you have lost someone you love as a result of medical malpractice in Ohio, contact the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Robert W. Kerpsack CO, LPA, for a free, personal consultation.
