Court Upholds Whistleblower's Multi- Million Dollar Verdict Against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Hospital Ordered To Pay Surgeon More Than $6 million.
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) May 18, 2011 - The California Court of Appeals has upheld a world-renowned surgeon's multi-million dollar judgment against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CSMC) stemming from the hospital's negligence in maintaining and sterilizing surgical instruments -- measures that had put patients' lives at stake. The Court also reaffirmed the original ruling that Cedars and much of its executive staff engaged in retaliatory measures against Hrayr Shahinian, M.D., which damaged his practice and reputation and resulted in a loss of revenue.
"Once again, the Court has bravely ruled against one of the most powerful medical institutions in the country in favor of patient care and the ability of one surgeon to continue helping patients facing uncertain futures. Justice has prevailed," said Shahinian, who was recently honored by NASA for his role in developing technology that allows surgeons to see 3D high-def images of the brain and scientists to capture 3D images of planetary surfaces. "For several years now, my time, resources and attention have been split between advancing science, caring for my patients and deflecting the seemingly countless salvos that are part and parcel with wrangling with Cedars-Sinai."
Shahinian refers to a malpractice suit he is currently appealing in which he says a Cedars staff member falsely testified against him.
"The chief witness against me in that trial is a staff member at Cedars-Sinai who is the very person who replaced me when I broke ties with the hospital over this whistle-blowing incident," he said. "To detail every incident in which Cedars has attempted to destroy my career would fill a book."
Added attorney Robert C. Baker who represented Shahinian, "Cedars-Sinai is using its vast resources to drown Dr. Shahinian in litigation. They have been using the legal system to kill his career."
Among the disturbing revelations that Shahinian brought to light in the original case:
• In numerous instances, bioburden (brain matter) was found on surgical instruments supposedly sterilized by Cedars-Sinai. Had they been used, patients would have been vulnerable to a host of infections including one resembling "mad cow" disease.
• Shahinian was pressured to extend overnight stays long beyond what was medically necessary to increase revenue for the hospital.
• Shahinian was "encouraged" to refer patients to Cedars staff physicians even when they were not qualified in order to increase revenue for the hospital.
• Cedars regularly engaged in the practice of flash sterilization instead of proper procedure (this should only be used in rare instances such as when an instrument is dropped during surgery and it is necessary to complete the procedure. Proper sterilization is an overnight process and much safer for patients.)
• Cedars-Sinai withheld key information from the investigators during the original investigation in 2006
• Shahinian's refusal to "buckle" under pressure from the hospital made him the target of a campaign designed to harm his practice and reputation.
Shahinian has earned international attention for his groundbreaking minimally invasive approach to surgery to remove brain and skull base tumors and treat other related abnormalities. His revolutionary techniques have helped more than 4,500 patients who benefited from fewer complications, shortened hospital stays and decreased recovery times. To date, Shahinian has treated patients from all 50 states as well as from Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Armenia, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Poland, Egypt and Israel. The efficacy of Shahinian's minimally invasive techniques over the open craniotomy and other traditional methods have been documented in prestigious peer-reviewed journals, medical books and, most recently, a textbook authored by Shahinian entitled "Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery."
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