Jury awards $4.45M in medical malpractice suit

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BY MARISA KWIATKOWSKI
mkwiatkowski@nwitimes.com
219.662.5333 | Tuesday, May 20, 2008 | (16 comment(s))

HAMMOND | A jury awarded $4.45 million to a Highland family Friday after finding a St. Catherine Hospital emergency doctor responsible for medical malpractice, plaintiff's attorney Holly Wojcik said.

The family sued Dr. Rajeev Sareen after the Dec. 22, 2001, death of 45-year-old Roger Vuckovich, Lake Superior Court records show.

The former Inland Steel security supervisor died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm about 12 hours after being discharged from St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, Wojcik said.

One of Sareen's attorneys, John McCrum, declined comment Monday. The other two attorneys listed in court records could not be reached for comment.

Attorney Kathleen Maicher, who represented St. Catherine Hospital early in the lawsuit, said the hospital and a radiologist were dismissed from the civil suit after a medical review panel ruled they met the standard of care.

A St. Catherine Hospital spokeswoman confirmed Monday that the hospital was dismissed from the lawsuit in December 2005 but would not comment further. She said she did not have information on the status of Sareen's employment at the hospital.

Wojcik and attorney Barry Rooth argued Vuckovich's death could have been prevented if Sareen had ordered a CT scan to accurately diagnose Vuckovich's condition. Vuckovich was misdiagnosed as having a kidney stone, Rooth said.

The Lake Superior Court jury found Sareen responsible after about an hour of deliberations, Wojcik said. The verdict followed a five-day trial in Judge William Davis' courtroom in Hammond, court records show.

The jury awarded Vuckovich's wife, Cynthia, $2.2 million and awarded $750,000 each to his three daughters, Rooth said.

"I feel heartened that the jury understood that the care required a CT under these circumstances," Rooth said.

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To M.D. wrote on Jun 3, 2008 1:29 PM:

" Genius, the defendant DID consider the abdominal aortic aneurysm as a possibility, but didn't do anything more with that information. THAT is what I meant. Therefore, THIS defendant in THIS situation DID take the easy way out. He considered it but that is where it ended. He needed to investigate it further. Not to mention take a good family history and he would have known that the patient had a family history of AAAs too. "

M.D. wrote on May 29, 2008 6:52 PM:

" In response to the above comment by Nice Work which stated: "I hope this verdict makes the doctors and health professionals in our area take notice of how important it is to address every possible diagnosis and not just take the easy way out."
So, according to your logic, every person who comes into the ER complaining of abdominal pain needs to have *every* possible diagnosis ruled out, meaning that everyone needs: a CT scan, abdominal and pelvis ultrasounds, an upper endoscopy, a colonoscopy, a rectal exam, a pelvic exam, and extensive laboratory testing (because you can't miss Familial Mediterranean Fever as the course for someone's abdominal pain!). Good luck with that. "

Justice for Roger wrote on May 23, 2008 9:45 AM:

" This is justice for Roger, a beloved son, nephew, brother, husband, father and friend. His life was shortened due to a negligent physician not practicing evidence based medicine. No evidence of a kidney stone but that's where he stopped looking. The CT scan machine only 16 steps away but he didn't order it. Physicians should and will be held accountable for their actions. Congrats to Barry Rooth and his excellent team. Congrats to the Vuckovich Family for now after 6 years there is justice for Roger. "

Attorney Fees wrote on May 21, 2008 5:12 AM:

" Of course there are attorney fees! I don't work for free, and I'm sure nobody else does. I don't think attorneys get any money until there is either a settlement or a verdict anyway. Until then, all of the work leading up to that point is not paid to the attorney. I think the bottom line is that the family finally gets their justice for this tragedy. "

DO THE MATH wrote on May 20, 2008 4:57 PM:

" You still have to subtract Rooth's percentage and additional fees from the $1.25.... "

Concerned Too wrote on May 20, 2008 1:58 PM:

" To respond to Jack's concern about a jury awarding too much. In the state of Indiana (in regards to medical malpractice) it does not matter what the jury awards, the maximum the plaintiff can receive is $1.25 million. So the $4.45 million will never happen, unfortunately for the Vuckovichs. I am sure they would much rather have there father/spouse back than any amount of money the jury could award. I am glad they g won their day in court after 6 years of not knowing. "

Concerned Too wrote on May 20, 2008 1:55 PM:

Congrats wrote on May 20, 2008 11:28 AM:

" Congratulations to the Vuckovich family. The monetary loss they endured is just a small fraction of the love they lost from their father, and husband. I do not know a more deserving family for this verdict. They have gone through SO much. "

to Concerned wrote on May 20, 2008 10:44 AM:

" I had (what I thought anyway) a possible medical malpractice case, too. Barry Rooth told me I didn't have a case, either. I took it to 5 other attorneys, and they all agreed nothing was there, either. Finally, found an attorney, who CHARGED me to even look at my case. After 6 years, a jury found no medical malpractice, either. I wish I would have just listened to Barry Rooth in the beginning. "

Jack wrote on May 20, 2008 9:54 AM:

" Let me say first that I feel terribly for this families loss. It's very unfortunate that this doctor's misadiagnosis led to the death of this young man. We must however be much more reasonable in our jury awards. 4.45 million dollars is absolutely obscene. Assuming this man worked 20 more years, he would need to net an average of $222K per year at his job. These ludicrous jury awards cost each and everyone of us in rising healthcare premiums. I do believe people should be fairly compensated, but don't believe that someones untimely death should be like winning a lottery. "

Rocket Scientist wrote on May 20, 2008 9:36 AM:

" This is certainly a sign of the times. They treat you just enough to keep you coming back to rack up more bills. Hey, how else would you expect a doctor to pay for his million dollar home, or his $100,000 S-class Benz? Certainly not by treating you right the first time. "

concerned wrote on May 20, 2008 9:17 AM:

" Yep, St Catherines at it again. I want to sue for malpractice too, they let my husband out after 2 1/2 days in ICU because of no insurance, he ended up in Lafayette HOspital for 3 weeks on a ventilator cause of st catherine's stupidity
But Rooth wouldnt take my case, said I didnt have a case "

Nice Work wrote on May 20, 2008 9:00 AM:

" Barry Rooth and his law firm, Theodoros & Rooth, did an excellent job throughout this whole trial. From start to finish everything was presented smoothly and effectively. I hope this verdict makes the doctors and health professionals in our area take notice of how important it is to address every possible diagnosis and not just take the easy way out. "

Quality wrote on May 20, 2008 8:42 AM:

" Barry Rooth and the law firm of Theodoros & Rooth has always been a quality firm with solid values. I am glad that they did well at trial. My heart goes out to the Vuckovich for all that they endured at the hands of this physician. This ruling will hopefully make doctors realize the importance of good quality healthcare in our region. "

Setting the Standard wrote on May 20, 2008 8:08 AM:

" Congratulations on a job well done. By bringing inadequate healthcare into the spotlight, the standard of care for all patients is raised, and that is good for everybody. There are many good doctors in Northwest Indiana but there are also many that need to go back to medical school. Apparently Dr. Sareen is one of those doctors.... "

OMG wrote on May 20, 2008 7:15 AM:

" Hey I work at that hospital. It is a dump. "

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