Two new lawsuits have been filed against Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, marking the fourth and fifth malpractice complaints linked to heart transplants at the institution since investigative reports highlighted issues within its transplant program last year. These legal actions further magnify ongoing concerns about patient safety and procedural efficacy at the facility.
In August, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) halted Medicare funding for the heart transplant program at Baylor St. Luke’s, citing the center’s failure to implement necessary improvements to enhance patient outcomes, including survival rates and hospital length of stay. Such a significant funding cut emphasizes the serious nature of the deficiencies identified within the program.
The first of the two lawsuits alleges that a patient suffered severe complications due to errors made by then-surgical chief Jeffrey Morgan, MD, during a heart transplant in February 2017. The complaint states that Dr. Morgan inadvertently sewed a major vein closed, resulting in blood flow issues that caused significant complications and led the patient to endure a three-month hospital stay.
The second lawsuit involves an October 2016 procedure where a patient claims that Dr. Morgan improperly sutured the colon to the diaphragm. This alleged mistake reportedly caused the abdomen to fill with fecal matter, leading to severe infections that necessitated multiple follow-up surgeries. Both patients have survived their respective procedures but reportedly continue to experience significant health issues as a result of the alleged medical negligence.
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