Doctors Are Performing Unnecessary Atherectomies at an Alarming Rate, Resulting in Leg Amputations

 

Most people who have peripheral artery disease do not require surgery. Unless they have serious symptoms, exercise and medication are the preferred forms of treatment. And when surgery is required, patients should not undergo multiple procedures in a short amount of time. According to The New York Times, the number of atherectomies billed to Medicare has doubled between 2011 and 2021. Many of these patients could have been treated effectively with exercise and medication.

 

"Rigorous medical research has found that atherectomies are especially risky: Patients with peripheral artery disease who undergo the procedures are more likely to have amputations than those who do not."
- New York Times

 

If you or a loved one has suffered serious injury following an atherectomy, our dedicated Atherectomy Team of attorneys can help. We have substantial experience handling complex medical malpractice cases and work with nationally recognized vein experts, to achieve the results that you deserve.

 

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Why Are Doctors Jumping to Surgery?

Statistics gathered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid indicate that the number of atherectomies performed has doubled over the past ten years.  Why? The answer is simple… money. Medicare pays well for outpatient surgical procedures. When a doctor performs an outpatient atherectomy at a surgical center or vascular clinic, they can bill Medicare $10,000+ per procedure. 

In addition, some of the medical device manufacturers who make the equipment for these vascular procedures have provided surgeons with attractive loans and discounts, as well as free training, to encourage them to perform more procedures. There is also evidence that the device industry rewards the surgeons who perform the most procedures by offering financial incentives such as consulting and teaching opportunities.
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Have Questions about Atherectomy Malpractice or a Story to Share?

If you or a loved one has required an amputation following an atherectomy, please contact us to share your experience. We look forward to speaking with you.

 

Please submit your story or call us at (215) 706-8283.

 

Atherectomy Legal Team

Mark W. Tanner_HS

Mark W. Tanner

Mark W. Tanner, a Co-Managing Shareholder at Feldman Shepherd, is a dedicated and seasoned trial attorney who has secured numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements in a wide variety of matters including medical malpractice, defective medical device product liability claims, disability insurance claims, insurance bad faith claims, civil rights claims, catastrophic trucking and motor vehicle accident cases, and class action litigation.

A legal thought leader, Tanner is a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education programs and has taught trial advocacy, among other subjects, to law students and graduate LL.M. students at Philadelphia area law schools. He has lectured throughout the United States and, by invitation, to barristers in London.

Tanner is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (membership limited to 1% of the lawyers in any given state) and a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (membership limited to 500 lawyers in the United States). He has been recognized every year since 2007 as one of the Top 10 Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania by Thomson Reuters. He is the former president of The Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association (2007-2008) and the 2005 recipient of its President’s Award.

peter-newman

Peter M. Newman

Peter M. Newman, a Partner at Feldman Shepherd, represents clients in catastrophic personal injury cases including medical malpractice, product liability, and complex personal injury and wrongful death actions. Newman also handles claims against insurance companies for clients who are victims of bad faith in the adjustment or defense of claims, and for clients who made claims for disability benefits that their insurers unreasonably denied. Over the course of nearly 30 years as a trial lawyer, Newman has represented clients who are victims of medical and surgical errors and delayed diagnoses. He has also developed considerable experience investigating the cause and origin of fires and swimming pool accidents.

Newman is regularly listed as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters. He served a three-year term as a member of the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association and is a member of the Association’s Judicial Commission, which evaluates candidates for judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and Philadelphia Municipal Court and rates them for the benefit of the voting public. Newman serves as an arbitrator in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas and as a Judge Pro Tempore in the Court’s Dispute Resolution Center. He is a past member of the Board of pro bono legal services provider Philadelphia VIP.

Notable Results

  • $12.5 million settlement for a 44-year-old woman who suffered an intracranial hemorrhage when an aneurysm ruptured in her brain a year after she was seen by the defendant doctors with symptoms of an aneurysm. Radiologic studies ordered by the defendants had confirmed the existence of the aneurysm, but the defendants had failed to notify the patient that an aneurysm had been identified and failed to refer her to a neurosurgeon, depriving her of the treatment that would have prevented the subsequent rupture.
  • $8 million verdict for a 37-year-old woman in a case involving improper management of the anticoagulant medications. The patient developed an epidural bleed that went undiagnosed by her doctors, resulting in permanent loss of use of one hand and arm.
  • $2.2 million settlement for a client who had been taking a blood thinner and relied upon a defective home test kit to monitor his anticoagulation status so that he could adjust his medication dosage accordingly. As a result of the erroneous readings provided by the home test kit, the client was unaware that his INR score was dangerously low, causing him to suffer an embolic cerebrovascular stroke resulting in neurologic injuries.
  • A confidential settlement for a client was hospitalized for treatment of atrial fibrillation, for which his doctor prescribed a blood thinner. He was discharged without instructions or information about required INR blood tests and suffered an intracranial hemorrhage, which his primary care physician failed to diagnose when the client presented with headache, light sensitivity, and nausea.
  • A confidential settlement for a stroke patient who was rendered a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic when the stroke diagnosis was missed and delayed for hours at a Primary Stroke Center, where key requirements for certification include: acute stroke team available 24/7 at bedside within 15 minutes, comprehensive diagnostic services including CT, MRI, labs 24/7, CTA and MRA, and neurosurgical services available within 2 hours.

 

Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig LLP attorneys are licensed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Texas. In addition, our attorneys practice in other states on a pro hac vice basis. Pro hac vice admission is when a lawyer not licensed in a particular state associates with a lawyer who is licensed in that state and obtains the court’s permission to jointly represent a client in a specific matter.

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