Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Against Atlanta Medical Center

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Against Atlanta Medical Center

Georgia Woman Secures Bell Law Firm After Negligence Leads to Husband’s Death

ATLANTA – August 4, 2020 – Myung J. Oh, wife of the deceased Byung “Ben” Oh, retained Lloyd Bell and Bell Law Firm to file a medical malpractice, wrongful-death action in Fulton County against WellStar’s Atlanta Medical Center and Mr. Oh’s individual health care providers. According to the lawsuit, doctors working at the Atlanta Medical Center were negligent in their care and treatment of Mr. Oh by causing a massive leak of chyle lymphatic fluid which led directly to Mr. Oh suffering multi-organ failure and septic shock. Mr. Oh died as a result of substandard medical care.

Mr. Oh visited Atlanta Medical Center after falling off a ladder and fracturing a vertebra in his back. On May 4^th, Mr. Oh underwent surgery to repair the fracture. Although Mr. Oh had a documented history of heart problems, they were well-managed with heart medication. Mr. Oh’s medical providers did not administer his heart medication as prescribed, leading to irregular heartbeat and making Mr. Oh more prone to infection.

During recovery, Mr. Oh’s abdomen became firm and distended. His care providers suspected urinary retention and decided to place a supra-pubic catheter to drain the bladder. Unfortunately, when Dr. Barry Jeffries, an interventional radiologist, attempted to place the catheter, he missed the bladder and placed it in Mr. Oh’s abdomen instead. Dr. Jeffries did nothing to confirm the proper placement of the catheter such as ordering appropriate imaging studies, so his mistake went undetected. The misplaced catheter allowed enormous amounts of essential chyle fluid to drain from Mr. Oh’s abdomen, leading to systemic organ failure, sepsis and eventually death.

“Everyone at the hospital just assumed these liters of white, milky fluid coming out of the catheter was urine,” said Lloyd Bell, Mrs. Oh’s lead attorney. “Any 5-year-old boy can tell you urine is yellow, not milky white. It boggles the mind that everyone just blindly assumed this large volume of milky fluid was supposedly urine. If only his care team had sent a sample to the lab, they would have figured out the mistake and had time to fix it before costing Mr. Oh his life.”

Mr. Oh died on July 21^st, due to the undiagnosed and mistreated chyle leak.

Ultimately, the complaint centers on three primary issues on which Mr. Oh suffered from medical negligence.

1. Failure by hospital staff, namely Dr. Adefisayo M. Oduwole and the nursing staff of Atlanta Medical Center, to properly manage Mr. Oh’s chronic cardiac problems. This failure led to atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular rate, severe respiratory distress, and respiratory interventions that put Mr. Oh at risk of infections.
2. Misplacement of a supra-pubic catheter by Dr. Barry Jeffries that caused a massive chyle leak, worsening Oh’s immune-compromised state.
3. Mismanagement of the chyle leak after the misplaced catheter began draining multiple liters of chylous fluid. According to the complaint, Dr. Amy Wyrzykowski, Dr. Khalid Iqbal, Dr. Thomas Schoborg, Dr. Zandraetta L. Tims-Cook and Dr. John P. Ouderkirk failed to respond in a reasonable, timely manner to the abnormal fluid output.

“The negligence in this case is shocking,” notes Lloyd Bell. “Mr. Oh’s death was completely avoidable if only his care providers paid attention and used some critical thinking. They let this gentleman die a slow and painful death because no one questioned what this large quantity of white fluid was leaking out of Mr. Oh’s abdomen. Mr. Oh was a vibrant, active senior, an Army veteran, who loved to travel with his wife and daughters, enjoyed gardening and doing home renovation projects around the house. He died a slow, painful and utterly unnecessary death,” says Bell.

“I have two goals in this lawsuit,” continues Bell. “Achieve a just verdict on behalf of the Oh family that holds these medical providers accountable for causing Mr. Oh’s death. And second, to provide a financial incentive for health care companies to make the system-wide changes necessary to protect patients from deadly medical errors.”

Plaintiff Myung J. Oh seeks compensatory damages, as well as damages for medical costs and other damages including physical, economic and emotional injuries.

For more information about Bell Law Firm’s success in helping victims of medical malpractice, visit: www.belllawfirm.com/results.

About Bell Law Firm

Bell Law Firm is Georgia’s preeminent firm for victims of medical malpractice. Founded in 1999 by Lloyd Bell, the firm has recovered more than $100 million for patients and families of people injured or killed due to medical negligence. Bell has more than 25 years of experience in federal and state courts, and he has represented clients in more than 75 jury trials and hundreds of successful settlements. Specializing in litigating misdiagnoses, surgical errors, and other types of malpractice, Bell Law firm differentiates itself with deep legal expertise, a mastery of technology in the courtroom and a compelling manner of storytelling. In 2018, Daily Report, the leading source of legal news in Atlanta, named Bell Law Firm as Personal Injury Litigation Team of the Year.

Tags: Atlanta medical, Atlanta Medical Center, medical malpractice, medical negligence, misdiagnosis, Wrongful death