CHARLESTON – A former college baseball pitcher has sued a Putnam County doctor and others after a shoulder surgery ended his playing career.
Tyler Lafferty filed his complaint August 29 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Dr. James B. Cox, Charleston Area Medical Center Inc. doing business as CAMC Teays Valley Hospital and CAMC Orthopedics Teays Valley, Dr. Paul Dexter Akers II and Radiology Inc.
Lafferty was a pitcher for West Virginia State University who began experiencing pain in his right shoulder when throwing in the fall of 2022. He sought and received physical therapy services.
Staun
| File photo
“This case represents yet another example of how Dr. Cox continues to inflict harm on his patients,” attorney Mark R. Staun told The West Virginia Record. “The harm here cost this young man his baseball career and unnecessary surgical procedures which have caused permanent damage to his shoulder.
“This, in combination with Dr. Akers’ failure to see the labrum tear from the outset, which was in plain view on MRI, created a perfect storm culminating in surgery being performed without the consent of Mr. Lafferty. It’s all awful.”
On January 4, 2023, Lafferty saw Cox, who noted Lafferty presented with a right shoulder sprain, rotator cuff tendonitis and impingement syndrome. Cox gave him a cortisone shot, and Lafferty resumed physical therapy.
“He has been treated so far with physical therapy and has been making good progress with his strength and pain,” Cox wrote in his notes. “The therapist contacted me over the weekend and recommended a subacromial cortisone injection to further decrease rotator cuff tendonitis and hopefully enhance his progress in therapy.”
In July 20023, Lafferty saw Cox again for the right shoulder pain. Cox diagnosed adhesive capsulitis and right rotator cuff tendonitis and ordered an MRI without contrast. Lafferty had the MRI a few days later at Logan Regional Medical Center.
Akers, who works for Radiology Inc., read the MRI, finding “Rotator Cuff tendons: interstitial tears of the supraspinatus tendon posteriorly” and “Labrum: There are no abnormalities.”
On July 19, 2023, Cox told Lafferty he had reviewed the MRI that showed “partial thickness/interstitial tears of the rotator cuff superiorly at the supraspinatus tendon.”
“I recommend arthroscopy of the right shoulder with debridement of partial rotator cuff tear and lysis adhesions with concomitant manipulation under anesthesia of the right shoulder,” Cox wrote.
The complaint says Cox prepared and signed an “Informed Consent To Procedures And Other Medical Services” on July 19, 2023. But Lafferty did not sign the consent, and he says it never was discussed with him by Cox.
The consent form described the possible procedures as acromioplasty, acromioclavicular (AC) joint resolution and rotator cuff repair.
“No injury to or repair of the labrum was mentioned in the consent,” the complaint states.
Lafferty underwent surgery on July 27, 2023. The pre-operative diagnosis was chronic impingement syndrome right shoulder with adhesive capsulitis and partial rotator cuff tear.
“There was no mention of a labrum injury in Dr. Cox’s pre-operative diagnosis,” the complaint states. “However, in surgery, Dr. Cox found a superior labrum anterior to posterior (SLAP) lesion and performed a SLAP lesion repair. No rotator cuff tear was seen or repaired by Dr. Cox.”
Lafferty followed up with Cox and began physical therapy in the fall of 2023, but he says he continued to experience pain when throwing and “did not progress favorably with his rehabilitation plan.”
He had a second MRI on January 18, 2024. That MRI was read by Dr. Francesa Beaman with Radiology Inc. Beaman found no injury to the rotator cuff with no evidence of high-grade partial thickness or full thickness tearing.
Lafferty said he last saw Cox on January 22, 2024. After that, he has seen and been treated by Dr. Tim Kremchek at Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Cincinnati and had surgery to release a very tight posterior capsule.
He accuses Cox of medical battery and CAMC of vicarious liability for medical battery by Cox, and he accuses all of the defendants of negligence.
Lafferty seeks compensatory damages, general damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, court costs, expenses and other relief as well as pre- and post-judgment interests.
He is being represented by Staun, R. Dean Hartley and James M. Barber of Hartley Law Group in Charleston.
Lafferty started 10 games for West Virginia State in 2023. He posted a 4-4 record and threw three complete games, including one shutout. He was named Second Team All-Atlantic Region by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association and was also the only Yellow Jacket to earn First Team All-Mountain East Conference honors that season.
After working his way into the starting rotation, Lafferty was the team’s ace by the end of the season. He had the lowest earned run average (2.33) and opposing batting average (.195) in the MEC.
He played prep ball for Man High and Ambassador Christian School. He is the son of former Man High baseball coach Donald Lafferty.
Cox has been named in numerous lawsuits over the years, recently in some cases involving infected knees.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 24-C-924