Hospital now denies liability for stents

BALTIMORE, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A Baltimore-area hospital is turning its back on patients who had coronary stents wrongly implanted, patients' attorneys said.

After a complaint last year that cardiologist Mark Midei was placing stents in the arteries of patients who didn't need them, St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson removed him from duty, reviewed his records and told nearly 600 patients whose stents seemed unnecessary to see a doctor, The Baltimore Sun reported.

When asked if the hospital bore any liability, Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey K. Norman replied, "I suppose we do."

But now, with lawsuits looming, the hospital says it "generally denies all allegations of liability."

Attorneys preparing malpractice cases against St. Joseph say hospital lawyers are gathering experts to argue that Midei did nothing improper, despite the hospital having revoked his practice privileges and some people on the staff, including the chief of cardiology, still charging impropriety.

Sources familiar with settlement talks say the hospital is offering, on average, less than $100,000 per patient, while attorneys are sometimes asking for three times that amount or more.