This case is strikingly similar to the case of Dr. Hamid Safari at Kaiser Permanente. However, in the Kaiser case, the cover-up went all the way to the top. Instead of firing the doctor who killed the babies, Kaiser fired the Chief of the OB/GYN Department for complaining about Dr. Safari! At the same time, Kaiser offered $2 million to Dr. Safari to resign.
Dr. Gilbert Kenneth Moran's lawsuit says he was fired for complaining about "Dr. X," whose negligence resulted in three deaths at Kaiser in Fresno, which is where Dr. Hamid Safari worked when his notorious misbehavior occurred.
Missouri couple sues doctors for separating baby’s head during grisly botched birth, and trying to cover it up: reports
Arteisha Betts and Travis Ammonette claim in lawsuit that their OB-GYN refused to perform a planned C-section and then detached baby's spine while trying to yank him from the birth canal.
BY PHILIP CAULFIELD
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
OCTOBER 12, 2012
Arteisha Betts and Travis Ammonette, of Florissant, Mo., claimed their son, Kaden Travis Ammonette, died during birth after the delivering doctor separated his head from his neck.
A Missouri obstetrician separated a baby's head from his body during delivery and then shoved the newborn back into the mother and performed an emergency C-section to cover up the ghastly blunder, a couple claims in a lawsuit.
Arteisha Betts and Travis Ammonette, of Florissant, filed a 10-count complaint in St. Louis County Circuit Court last month claiming doctors wrongly pushed them to have a vaginal delivery, decapitated their son and then tried to cover it up, according to local Patch and Courthouse News Service.
The details of the couple's claim are horrifying.
During a February 2011 appointment, the couple claimed, Dr. Susan Moore told them their baby boy would have to be delivered by caesarian because his abdomen was too large for a normal birth, according the CNS report.
Betts went into labor on March 22, just 28 weeks into what is normally a 40-week pregnancy.
The delivering doctor at St. John's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Gilbert Webb, refused to perform a C-section and "would only agree to deliver her baby by way of attempted trial of vaginal delivery," the complaint said, according to Patch.
Webb refused to allow them to go to a different hospital, and "Betts consented to a trial of vaginal delivery under duress and protest," the complaint said.
During the birth, the boy's head breached, but the rest of his body got stuck in the birth canal, the complaint said.
In an attempt to pull the boy loose, Webb applied traction to his head and "separated (the boy's) head from his cervical spine," the complaint said.
Blood "shot out" from the newborn's neck in full view of his parents, the complaint said.
Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, where Betts was brought to give birth in March 2011. The hosptial was not named in the couple's complaint.
Webb then "pushed" the boy's head and body back into the birth canal and scrambled to perform a C-section, slicing into Betts before anesthesia kicked in, the complaint said.
During the procedure, Webb "surgically and completely removed" the boy's head from his body, the complaint said.
The doctor then tried to cover up the boy's wounds before handing him over to his parents — though the complaint doesn't say how he did this.
The suit, filed in late September, names Webb and Moore, along with Midwest Maternal & Fetal Medicine Services and Signature Medical Group as defendants.
The couple accused the group of wrongful death and negligence and is seeking unspecified damages...
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/couple-baby-decapitated-delivery-article-1.1181731#ixzz2B6zRBOSz
Showing posts with label . Moran (Dr. Gilbert Moran). Show all posts
Showing posts with label . Moran (Dr. Gilbert Moran). Show all posts
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Kaiser fired Dr. Moran for complaining about Hamid Safari, the doctor who killed two babies
Kaiser retaliation for patient advocacy
Kaiser fired the Chief of the OB/GYN Department for complaining about a doctor who has since become notorious for killing babies. At the same time, Kaiser offered $2 million to the baby-killing doctor to resign.
Dr. Gilbert Kenneth Moran's lawsuit says he was fired for complaining about "Dr. X," whose negligence resulted in three deaths at Kaiser in Fresno, which is where Dr. Hamid Safari worked when his notorious misbehavior occurred.
The lawsuit states:
...Between 2002 and 2004, while he was Chief of the OB/GYN department and oversaw the quality of care committee, petitioner complained to hospital officials about substandard patient care given by a doctor identified as Dr. X. The physician-in-chief told petitioner to stop complaining, and dismantled the quality of care committee; he demoted and otherwise disciplined petitioner as a result of the complaints. Dr. X's negligence resulted in the death of three patients.
Petitioner was told he could work harassment-free at Kaiser-Bakersfield if he resigned his partnership, returned to employee status, and accepted a reduction in pay and job security; he was told he would likely be promoted to partnership again after one year, rather than the usual three years. Petitioner agreed to this. His first day of work for SCPMG in Bakersfield was January 8, 2007. He subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation for patient advocacy; that suit was resolved on June 29, 2009. Petitioner was later told he would not be promoted to partner at Kaiser-Bakersfield; he was terminated effective February 22, 2010...
Hamid Safari: Kaiser tried to bribe baby-killing doctor
Kaiser Permanente Thrive Exposed
March 8th, 2008
[How do you like that? Only at Kaiser can you kill two babies and endanger countless others, only to be handed $2 million of member money to quietly resign. The pattern should be glaringly obvious by now. Kaiser always tries to lie and buy its way out of a scandal, and only does the right thing when its malfeasance becomes a media event. Note that even after Safari turned down the settlement, Kaiser still would have declined to suspend him if only CMS hadn't rejected the first plan of correction (pdf).]
From the Fresno Bee:
Kaiser doctor rejected a deal
Hospital offered beleaguered Safari $2 million to resign.
By Tracy Correa
Three months before Kaiser Permanente suspended a Fresno physician at the center of a state investigation into the deaths of two babies, the hospital offered him $2 million to resign.
Dr. Hamid Safari, who treated high-risk pregnancies, said he refused the Nov. 28 offer because he wanted to continue working and believes he has done nothing wrong.
“I have spent my life to be a perinatologist and help patients, mothers and babies. The money was not my intention or my goal in life,” Safari said.
Kaiser officials acknowledged that they have discussed a settlement with Safari, but would not confirm the $2 million figure. The hospital suspended the doctor last week.
“We have considered many alternatives over time regarding Dr. Safari leaving the organization, including settlement, because we believed it was in everyone’s best interest,” Linda Monte, interim senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser’s Fresno hospital, said in a written statement.
The doctor and his lawyer, Stephen Schear, said Kaiser buckled under the pressure of bad publicity. They also criticized Kaiser for telling reporters about the suspension.
Schear said Safari was not interested in taking any amount of money in exchange for his career.
“Our counteroffer was to sit down and work things out so he could continue to treat patients at Kaiser Fresno,” he said.
Safari said a Kaiser representative showed up at his home about 5 p.m. on Feb. 29 and handed over a letter stating that he was suspended, effective immediately. He had been off that day for his deposition in a lawsuit filed by two Kaiser doctors who said they were retaliated against by hospital administration for questioning Safari’s competence.
The suspension followed months of criticism and public pressure on the doctor and Kaiser Permanente since details of the deaths — in 2004 and 2005 — became public late last year.
In September, the California Medical Board accused Safari of gross negligence — charges that could lead to loss of his California medical license. A hearing is pending.
In 2004, Safari waited more than three hours before performing a Caesarean section on a patient even though the baby was in distress, according to the accusation. The baby girl, who was deprived of oxygen, died 10 months later.
The other case occurred in 2005, when Safari allegedly severed the spinal cord of a baby boy, a twin, in what has been described by investigators in documents as a brutal delivery.
Medical staff and nurses have said they had raised questions about Safari’s competence but hospital administration failed to act.
Drs. Gilbert Moran and Robert Rusche are now suing Kaiser for retaliating against them after they complained about Safari.
Safari, in turn, accuses Moran — the former head of the OB/GYN department — and Rusche of complaining to the state medical board as part of a vendetta against him. He said they did so after he complained to superiors that one of the doctors was abusing his power on a quality review committee to go after doctors he didn’t like.
In January, federal health officials issued a critical 68-page report following an investigation into the situation. The report suggested that if Safari had been monitored more closely, the deaths might have been prevented.
Days later, Susan Ryan, the hospital’s then-top administrator, stepped down.
Schear said the bad publicity had become too much and Kaiser was determined to get rid of Safari. He also said that even though the doctor is suspended, he is collecting his Kaiser paycheck and is still entitled to due process, involving hearings and appeals, that can take months or years.
Schear said the $2 million settlement offer was an attempt to quickly disassociate the hospital from Safari and shortcut that process.
Schear provided The Bee a copy of a Nov. 28 letter from a Los Angeles law firm he said represented Kaiser. He blanked out all but one passage in the letter, which reads, “Kaiser will pay Dr. Safari $2 million, provided Dr. Safari complies with all conditions set forth herein.”
Schear said the letter also set forth conditions, including a confidentiality agreement and a pledge that Safari wouldn’t sue Kaiser.
“The essence was, you leave and we give you the money,” Schear said.
He said $2 million was a starting point and that the offer came “with indications they would pay him significantly more than that if he immediately resigned.”
Schear said he believes Kaiser moved to suspend Safari because it doesn’t think the medical board will end up revoking his license when all the facts come out.
“They just decided to throw him overboard,” Schear said.
Safari said he has performed well in recent months and that there have been no reports of any problems since 2005. He said his patient satisfaction rates are the highest they have ever been and only eight Kaiser patients have asked to be reassigned to another doctor.
“I think the action [suspension] was taken because he’s performing too well and building up a track record,” Schear said. “The longer he goes without problems, the harder it is to get rid of him.”
Safari now serves primarily as a consultant in high-risk births. Kaiser restricted Safari in July 2005 from performing vaginal deliveries and made the restrictions permanent in April 2007.
Kaiser fired the Chief of the OB/GYN Department for complaining about a doctor who has since become notorious for killing babies. At the same time, Kaiser offered $2 million to the baby-killing doctor to resign.
Dr. Gilbert Kenneth Moran's lawsuit says he was fired for complaining about "Dr. X," whose negligence resulted in three deaths at Kaiser in Fresno, which is where Dr. Hamid Safari worked when his notorious misbehavior occurred.
The lawsuit states:
...Between 2002 and 2004, while he was Chief of the OB/GYN department and oversaw the quality of care committee, petitioner complained to hospital officials about substandard patient care given by a doctor identified as Dr. X. The physician-in-chief told petitioner to stop complaining, and dismantled the quality of care committee; he demoted and otherwise disciplined petitioner as a result of the complaints. Dr. X's negligence resulted in the death of three patients.
Petitioner was told he could work harassment-free at Kaiser-Bakersfield if he resigned his partnership, returned to employee status, and accepted a reduction in pay and job security; he was told he would likely be promoted to partnership again after one year, rather than the usual three years. Petitioner agreed to this. His first day of work for SCPMG in Bakersfield was January 8, 2007. He subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation for patient advocacy; that suit was resolved on June 29, 2009. Petitioner was later told he would not be promoted to partner at Kaiser-Bakersfield; he was terminated effective February 22, 2010...
Hamid Safari: Kaiser tried to bribe baby-killing doctor
Kaiser Permanente Thrive Exposed
March 8th, 2008
[How do you like that? Only at Kaiser can you kill two babies and endanger countless others, only to be handed $2 million of member money to quietly resign. The pattern should be glaringly obvious by now. Kaiser always tries to lie and buy its way out of a scandal, and only does the right thing when its malfeasance becomes a media event. Note that even after Safari turned down the settlement, Kaiser still would have declined to suspend him if only CMS hadn't rejected the first plan of correction (pdf).]
From the Fresno Bee:
Kaiser doctor rejected a deal
Hospital offered beleaguered Safari $2 million to resign.
By Tracy Correa
Three months before Kaiser Permanente suspended a Fresno physician at the center of a state investigation into the deaths of two babies, the hospital offered him $2 million to resign.
Dr. Hamid Safari, who treated high-risk pregnancies, said he refused the Nov. 28 offer because he wanted to continue working and believes he has done nothing wrong.
“I have spent my life to be a perinatologist and help patients, mothers and babies. The money was not my intention or my goal in life,” Safari said.
Kaiser officials acknowledged that they have discussed a settlement with Safari, but would not confirm the $2 million figure. The hospital suspended the doctor last week.
“We have considered many alternatives over time regarding Dr. Safari leaving the organization, including settlement, because we believed it was in everyone’s best interest,” Linda Monte, interim senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser’s Fresno hospital, said in a written statement.
The doctor and his lawyer, Stephen Schear, said Kaiser buckled under the pressure of bad publicity. They also criticized Kaiser for telling reporters about the suspension.
Schear said Safari was not interested in taking any amount of money in exchange for his career.
“Our counteroffer was to sit down and work things out so he could continue to treat patients at Kaiser Fresno,” he said.
Safari said a Kaiser representative showed up at his home about 5 p.m. on Feb. 29 and handed over a letter stating that he was suspended, effective immediately. He had been off that day for his deposition in a lawsuit filed by two Kaiser doctors who said they were retaliated against by hospital administration for questioning Safari’s competence.
The suspension followed months of criticism and public pressure on the doctor and Kaiser Permanente since details of the deaths — in 2004 and 2005 — became public late last year.
In September, the California Medical Board accused Safari of gross negligence — charges that could lead to loss of his California medical license. A hearing is pending.
In 2004, Safari waited more than three hours before performing a Caesarean section on a patient even though the baby was in distress, according to the accusation. The baby girl, who was deprived of oxygen, died 10 months later.
The other case occurred in 2005, when Safari allegedly severed the spinal cord of a baby boy, a twin, in what has been described by investigators in documents as a brutal delivery.
Medical staff and nurses have said they had raised questions about Safari’s competence but hospital administration failed to act.
Drs. Gilbert Moran and Robert Rusche are now suing Kaiser for retaliating against them after they complained about Safari.
Safari, in turn, accuses Moran — the former head of the OB/GYN department — and Rusche of complaining to the state medical board as part of a vendetta against him. He said they did so after he complained to superiors that one of the doctors was abusing his power on a quality review committee to go after doctors he didn’t like.
In January, federal health officials issued a critical 68-page report following an investigation into the situation. The report suggested that if Safari had been monitored more closely, the deaths might have been prevented.
Days later, Susan Ryan, the hospital’s then-top administrator, stepped down.
Schear said the bad publicity had become too much and Kaiser was determined to get rid of Safari. He also said that even though the doctor is suspended, he is collecting his Kaiser paycheck and is still entitled to due process, involving hearings and appeals, that can take months or years.
Schear said the $2 million settlement offer was an attempt to quickly disassociate the hospital from Safari and shortcut that process.
Schear provided The Bee a copy of a Nov. 28 letter from a Los Angeles law firm he said represented Kaiser. He blanked out all but one passage in the letter, which reads, “Kaiser will pay Dr. Safari $2 million, provided Dr. Safari complies with all conditions set forth herein.”
Schear said the letter also set forth conditions, including a confidentiality agreement and a pledge that Safari wouldn’t sue Kaiser.
“The essence was, you leave and we give you the money,” Schear said.
He said $2 million was a starting point and that the offer came “with indications they would pay him significantly more than that if he immediately resigned.”
Schear said he believes Kaiser moved to suspend Safari because it doesn’t think the medical board will end up revoking his license when all the facts come out.
“They just decided to throw him overboard,” Schear said.
Safari said he has performed well in recent months and that there have been no reports of any problems since 2005. He said his patient satisfaction rates are the highest they have ever been and only eight Kaiser patients have asked to be reassigned to another doctor.
“I think the action [suspension] was taken because he’s performing too well and building up a track record,” Schear said. “The longer he goes without problems, the harder it is to get rid of him.”
Safari now serves primarily as a consultant in high-risk births. Kaiser restricted Safari in July 2005 from performing vaginal deliveries and made the restrictions permanent in April 2007.
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