CHARLESTON -- A couple is suing two Charleston physicians, a registered nurse and their practices for medical negligence.
On Nov. 14, 2007, John R. Armstrong was a patient of Dr. Robert E. Pollard, an otolaryngologist; Dr. Dante R. Geronilla, an anesthesiologist; and Rebecca Podbeseck, a registered nurse, according to a complaint filed Nov. 12 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Pollard performed a suspended laryngoscopy with biopsies on Armstrong, according to the suit.
Armstrong claims Pollard failed or refused to halt the elective procedure after the patient exhibited signs of distress, failed to accurately diagnose the patient's condition and thereafter abandoned the patient.
According to the suit, Eye & Ear Clinic Physicians Inc. and/or the Eye & Ear Clinic of Charleston Inc. breached the standard of care in that Pollard breached the standard of care.
Geronilla and Podbesek failed to perform an adequate pre-anesthesia machine check-out; failed to perform an adequate pre-anesthesia checklist; failed to properly document the pre-anesthesia checklist; and failed to verify an adequate reserve supply of oxygen, according to the suit.
Armstrong claims Geronilla failed to recognize his pneumothorax; failed to treat it; and failed o realize that left-sided breath sounds were absent when they had been present at induction.
Armstrong and his wife, Cindy Armstrong, are suing for compensatory damages.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 09-C-2111
Couple sues two Charleston physicians, others for medical negligence
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