Lawyers for Quadriplegic Says He's Owed $10 Mil from Cedars-Sinai Doctors

By BILL HETHERMAN
City News Service

A Newbury Park couple should collectively be awarded more than $10 million because of a negligently performed procedure at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Pain Center that left the husband a quadriplegic, their attorney told a jury today.

During final arguments in trial of a lawsuit brought by Michael and Francine Markow, lawyer Arnie Goldstein laid the blame for the man's condition on anesthesiologists Howard Rosner and Nirmala Thejomurthy. He said Rosner performed a high-risk procedure without fully informing Michael Markow of the potential dangers and consequences.

Thejomurthy allowed the procedure to go forward with the use of the iodine contrast lohexol -- known by the trade name Omnipaque -- even though Markow had a documented allergy to the substance, Goldstein alleged.

Despite strong evidence pointing to the doctors' decisions as the cause of what happened to Markow, defense attorneys tried to blame what happened on a stroke they say he suffered during the procedure, Goldstein told jurors.

"It's a campaign of deception," Goldstein said. "Their goal is to confuse you, to make you think this happened from something else."

Attorney Raymond Moore, on behalf of the doctors, countered that there is no evidence that Markow received Omnipaque.

"It was not given," Moore said.

Without proof Omnipaque was adminstered to Markow, the plaintiffs have no case against Thejomurthy, according to Moore, who said it is "not medically probable" that the plaintiff's condition can be attributed to an allergy or trauma.

He said Markow probably suffered an "evolving stroke" that coincidentally took place during the procedure.

Attorney Robert Reback, who represents Cedars-Sinai, told jurors that the nurses present during Markow's treatment "complied with the standard of care" required of them. He also said that although Rosner wore an identification badge with a Cedars-Sinai logo -- a slide of which was shown to jurors by Goldstein -- the doctor and Thejomurthy were employed by an independent medical group.

The Markows sued Cedars-Sinai as well as Rosner and Thejomurthy in January 2012. Markow first sought help from Rosner, a pain management anesthesiologist, at the Cedars-Sinai Pain Center in 2006 due to severe neck pain, according to court papers filed by the couple's lawyers.

The suit alleges Markow, now 67, underwent a "high-risk" treatment involving "bilateral deep and dangerous injections" on Nov. 11, 2010, in the C1 and C2 cervical vertebrae. There are seven such vertebrae, with the lowest numbered being those nearest the skull.

The suit also alleges Rosner did not adequately explained to Markow the dangers associated with the medical course of action before going forward with it.

"If he was told of the risks, he never would have gone through with it," Goldstein said, alleging that Rosner did not take the proper precautions to prevent Markow's injuries.

"Dr. Rosner was not careful, he was careless," Goldstein alleged.

Goldstein recommended a total of $8.6 million be awarded to Markow, nearly half of which would cover his expected future medical costs. Attorney Howard Kapp, on behalf of 63-year-old Francine Markow, said she was entitled to about $1.5 million for loss of consortium.

Francine Markow sat next to her wheelchair-bound husband during the final arguments and held his hand much of the time. She occasionally shook her head while listening to the defense attorneys' arguments.

Francine Markow testified last week that she was forced to sell the couple's longtime home because of wheelchair access issues and because the couple needed the money.

"It was a distress sale and I know I was taken advantage of because people knew I was really needy at that point," she said.

She said the Markows now live in a rented home, where she and a daytime caregiver together look after her husband, who she said led an active life before becoming a quadriplegic.