CHARLESTON — A Logan County man is suing doctors at Logan General Hospital and the hospital itself, alleging that a slow diagnosis and transfer led to his leg needing to be amputated.
Kenneth and Jacqueline Brown filed suit Jan. 8 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Logan General Hospital LLC, William Mullen, Ramanathan Padmanaban and Ramanathan Padmanaban, M.D. Inc.
According to the complaint, on July 2, 2014, Padmanaban performed a right total hip arthroplasty on Kenneth Brown at Logan General Hospital. Kenneth Brown states that, despite noting that Brown was experiencing numbness in his right extremity and a cool right hip, Padmanaban did not recognize that there was a vascular emergency and did not order any tests or treatment to deal with it. The next day, Mullen was allegedly called in to perform a consult and ordered a venous doppler examination, instead of an arterial doppler examination that allegedly should have been performed.
Because Logan General Hospital did not have vascular surgical services, Brown needed to be transferred to Charleston Area Medical Center, the complaint states. By the time he got there, hours after the transfer was requested, Brown was diagnosed with acute limb ischemia, stage III, and his right knee had to be amputated, according to the suit. The plaintiff contends that the slow actions of Padmanaban and Mullen lead to the amputation.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a jury trial. They are represented by Arden J. Curry II of Pauley Curry PLLC in Charleston. Judge Carrie L. Webster will hear the case.
Kanawha Circuit Court Case number 16-C-20