Bleeding Risk Not Revealed, Kaiser Patient Says
By BARBARA WALLACE
Courthouse News
May 21, 2013
PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) - When a 410-pound woman consulted a Kaiser obstetrician-gynecologist about the feasibility of becoming pregnant, the doctor recommended uterine surgery but did not warn her about the risk of complications due to her weight, the woman claims in court.
Dr. Rachel Algenio told plaintiff Karen Carmocan about a fibroid tumor on her uterus in 2008, according to the complaint. Yet, "it was not until 2011 when Dr. Algenio advised Karen that the said growth would interfere with her ability to have children and because of such, Dr. Algenio recommended that Karen have surgery to remove the growth from her uterus. Dr. Algenio represented to Karen that if she had the tumor removed she should be able to give birth to a child," the complaint states.
Carmocan initiated a discussion with Dr. Algenio about pre-surgical blood storage in case she needed a transfusion, according to the complaint. However, Dr. Algenio dissuaded her, saying it was not necessary because the procedure was "routine," the complaint continues.
Carmocan lost a higher than usual amount of blood and she began to have complications in the days following the operation, the complaint says. The complications included nausea and vomiting, breathing difficulties, excessive coughing and an unusually high level of white blood cells, according to the complaint. "An elevated white blood cell count can be an indication of an infection in the body," the complaint says. She needed to use a walker to walk because the blood loss had made her anemic, the complaint continues. After another two days, Carmocan was given a transfusion, but the anemia symptoms continued, as well as the coughing and vomiting, according to the complaint.
A day after she went home, Carmocan was back in the hospital because of her continuing problems, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis, the complaint says.
Carmocan blames Kaiser for the pneumonia and subsequent permanent lung damage, alleging it was caused by aspirated stomach contents from her untreated post-operative vomiting. She also claims excessive use of the antibiotic Vancomycin, given for the pneumonia, caused kidney failure and irreversible kidney damage. "Anemia played a significant role in the events that followed Karen's surgery," the complaint says, depriving her brain and other organs of red blood cells and oxygen for an extended period. Carmocan says Dr. Algenio breached the standard of care by causing the excessive blood loss, not anticipating anemia as a likely result and not replacing the lost blood sufficiently before sending her home.
Carmocan says Kaiser should have anticipated and warned her about "the problems that can occur during and following surgery performed on a person weighing 400 pounds," including "the increased risk of intraoperative bleeding in a patient when the surgical field is deep below an abdominal wall that is several inches thick" as well as "the increased risk of post-operative pneumonia in a patient whose extremely large body reduces the ability to breathe deeply and move about in the bed."
"Had Karen been advised by Dr. Algenio of the severity of risk of the procedure, especially the risks related to Karen's excessive weight, such as the increased risk of intraoperative bleeding," she would have decided not to pursue the surgery, she says.
Karen Carmocan gave up an educational goal of becoming a family counselor so that she and her husband, Dan, could try to have a family of their own, according to the complaint. However, "defendant's staff has represented to Karen that if she were to now become pregnant she would need to be placed on kidney dialysis during the time of the pregnancy, and even if she were to be placed on kidney dialysis, Karen would still have little chance of being able to bear a child," she says.
Karen and Dan Carmocan are suing in Multnomah County Circuit Court for $1.3 million.
Showing posts with label dialysis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dialysis. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Kaiser gave patient incorrect instructions, costing patient over $1,000
Kaiser Permanente
scambook
Complaint 139447
Date Occurred:03/01/2012
Reported Damages: $1,474.00
I was sent to RAI by Kaiser Permanente 12/12011 to initial renal dialysis. I was approached there by Peter Carrion, a representative from Kaiser, to enroll me in a Kaiser supplemental plan to start when Medicare became effective. I advised Mr Carrion I would be a home hemodialysis patient.
He instructed me to send my enrollment forms for the supplemental Kaiser plan 2 weeks before starting home hemodialysis. I started home hemodialysis classes 1-23-12, and began dialysis at home 2-16-12. I received a Medicare card with an effective date 3-1-12. I called Mr. Carrion and asked him if the effective date was correct as I understood Medicare became effective upon starting home hemodialysis.
He stated Medicare became effective 90 days after the onset of dialysis. I questioned him further but he insisted this was the case. I then accessed a web site for Medicare recepients which states that Medicare is effective the 1st day of the month that home hemodialysis classes are initiated.
I called and fax'd this information to Mr Carrion on numerous occasions without response. I then contacted his supervisor, Norma.
Norma states it was not their responsibility to know when Medicare became effective, that was up to the Social Security office. She was not interested in connecting the timing of the enrollment forms being sent to when the Medicare was made effective. I called the Social Security office who requested documentation from the Kaiser Permanente approved provider who initiated my home hemodialysis classes. This was done, I was advised it would take 6-8 weeks for my card to be corrected. I received my new Medicare card with efffective date 1-1-12 in April. Kaiser has since billed Medicare and received payment for services provided after 1-1-12.
Kaiser will not, however, refund premiums of $747/month for January and February of 2012 as my enrollment forms were not submitted until 2-1-12 as instructed by Mr. Carrion, their representative, and my Medicare was not started due to inaccurate information received from RAI, the Kaiser approved dialysis provider. It wasn't until I intervened that this was corrected. I believe Kaiser should be responsible for the instructions given to applicants and the Social Security office.
Respectfully submitted,
Anonymous SBID #8cab002602
Posted 07/26/2012
scambook
Complaint 139447
Date Occurred:03/01/2012
Reported Damages: $1,474.00
I was sent to RAI by Kaiser Permanente 12/12011 to initial renal dialysis. I was approached there by Peter Carrion, a representative from Kaiser, to enroll me in a Kaiser supplemental plan to start when Medicare became effective. I advised Mr Carrion I would be a home hemodialysis patient.
He instructed me to send my enrollment forms for the supplemental Kaiser plan 2 weeks before starting home hemodialysis. I started home hemodialysis classes 1-23-12, and began dialysis at home 2-16-12. I received a Medicare card with an effective date 3-1-12. I called Mr. Carrion and asked him if the effective date was correct as I understood Medicare became effective upon starting home hemodialysis.
He stated Medicare became effective 90 days after the onset of dialysis. I questioned him further but he insisted this was the case. I then accessed a web site for Medicare recepients which states that Medicare is effective the 1st day of the month that home hemodialysis classes are initiated.
I called and fax'd this information to Mr Carrion on numerous occasions without response. I then contacted his supervisor, Norma.
Norma states it was not their responsibility to know when Medicare became effective, that was up to the Social Security office. She was not interested in connecting the timing of the enrollment forms being sent to when the Medicare was made effective. I called the Social Security office who requested documentation from the Kaiser Permanente approved provider who initiated my home hemodialysis classes. This was done, I was advised it would take 6-8 weeks for my card to be corrected. I received my new Medicare card with efffective date 1-1-12 in April. Kaiser has since billed Medicare and received payment for services provided after 1-1-12.
Kaiser will not, however, refund premiums of $747/month for January and February of 2012 as my enrollment forms were not submitted until 2-1-12 as instructed by Mr. Carrion, their representative, and my Medicare was not started due to inaccurate information received from RAI, the Kaiser approved dialysis provider. It wasn't until I intervened that this was corrected. I believe Kaiser should be responsible for the instructions given to applicants and the Social Security office.
Respectfully submitted,
Anonymous SBID #8cab002602
Posted 07/26/2012
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