LOGAN – A Logan County woman says she ended up having her left leg amputated because of poor medical care at Logan Regional Medical Center.
Tudy Rose filed her complaint last month in Logan Circuit Court against Logan General Hospital LLC doing business as Logan Regional Medical Center and Dr. Robert W. McCleary.
According to the complaint, Rose underwent a routine left knee arthroscopic partial medial surgery because of a torn meniscus on July 5, 2022. But she says she experienced complications, pain and an inability to recover in the weeks following the surgery.
On August 30, 2022, Rose returned to Logan Regional. A decision was made to perform a second operation on her knee u sing the Biomet Vanguard system. She says McCleary provided a preoperative diagnosis of left knee primary osteoarthritis and opted to perform the surgery despite unreasonable risk because of Rose’s low albumin levels.
In the weeks after the second surgery, Rose says she developed infections in her left knee that caused immense pain and prevented proper recovery. On September 23, 2022, she returned the medical center when the infection worsened. McCleary diagnosed her with wound dehiscence and cellulitis.
Rose says the infection was caused by McCleary’s deviation from the standard of medical care by opting to perform the second surgery so close to the first one and with the low albumin level.
On September 24, 2022, McCleary performed a third surgery on her knee to try to combat the effects of the second surgery. But Rose was admitted to Logan Regional again on October 18, 2022, with infection again after her left knee got worse.
She spent nearly a month in the hospital to treat the infection, according to the complaint. She was discharged November 11, 2022. Rose says she continued to suffer severe leg pain and infection over the next months.
On March 11, 2023, Rose went to Logan Regional again and was identified as possibly having septic prepatellar bursitis. She was referred to Dr. Mathew Bullock at Cabell Huntington Hospital.
Numerous antibiotics and treatments were used to correct the previous medical errors, but Rose had to have her left leg amputated on August 27, 2023. In November, she had to have three more inches of her leg amputated.
Rose says the amputation required her to spend months in the hospital, and she still is receiving physical therapy. She also says she suffered substantial pain and anguish, annoyance, inconvenience and other damages as well as various medical and care expenses.
She accuses the defendants of violating the West Virginia Medical Professional Liability Act. She seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
Rose is being represented by Ryan W. Walters and J. Alexander Meade of Shaffer & Shaffer in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Kelly Codispoti.
Logan Circuit Court case number 24-C-105