The thousands of malpractice cases reported to the state Board

of Medicine since 1993 allege a host of medical errors and negligence by

doctors.

Many blame doctors for a death. Others fault physicians for brain

damage suffered by an infant at birth. Some cases allege the wrong organ

was removed, or the wrong limb amputated.

Two-thirds of the malpractice cases reported to the board ended

with settlements or jury verdicts in the plaintiff's favor. The following

are some examples:

- Dr. Harry G. Kennedy Jr. agreed to pay $4.35 million to settle a 1994

Harrison County case that left a 20-year-old woman permanently disabled

with brain damage.

The woman had gone to a Clarksburg hospital's emergency room in 1993

complaining of severe headaches. Kennedy, a radiologist, misread a scan of

her brain as normal, the claim alleged.

The woman returned to the ER the following week, as the headaches had

grown worse. Only then did doctors discover that she had a blood clot in

her brain. By then, her brain had begun to swell, causing permanent brain

damage.

Dr. Shivshankar Uchila Navada, a Clarksburg neurosurgeon, saw the woman

after CT scans revealed the blood clot. But Navada operated on the woman's

The woman was flown to Charleston, where another neurosurgeon saved her

life. But brain swelling caused a temporary coma and a stroke-like

condition. She lost the ability to both walk and speak.

Navada settled out of the case for $1.65 million. The settlements by

Kennedy and Navada paid for crucial rehabilitation care for the woman that

partly restored her speech and ability to walk, one court filing said. But

both skills remain impaired, and she is considered disabled for life.

- Dr. Dwarka N. Vemuri paid $4 million to settle claims by three

different women, including a 69-year-old nun, who accused the Wheeling

cardiologist of fraud. Vemuri performed unnecessary angioplasties, surgery

to open blocked blood vessels, on all three, their claims alleged.

One alleged a torn artery from the process required emergency surgery to

repair.

- Dr. Stuart Henry Fox has paid $2.7 million to settle eight

claims filed against him. The Huntington obstetrician was ordered

to pay $177,578 by a 1999 jury in a ninth claim, while another jury

cleared him in a 10th.

At least three of these cases blamed Fox for a death, while a fourth

faulted him for a botched abortion-related procedure.

Fox's medical license was placed on probation in 1994 after the widower

The thousands of malpractice cases reported to the state Board

of Medicine since 1993 allege a host of medical errors and negligence by

doctors.

Many blame doctors for a death. Others fault physicians for brain

damage suffered by an infant at birth. Some cases allege the wrong organ

was removed, or the wrong limb amputated.

Two-thirds of the malpractice cases reported to the board ended

with settlements or jury verdicts in the plaintiff's favor. The following

are some examples:

- Dr. Harry G. Kennedy Jr. agreed to pay $4.35 million to settle a 1994

Harrison County case that left a 20-year-old woman permanently disabled

with brain damage.

The woman had gone to a Clarksburg hospital's emergency room in 1993

complaining of severe headaches. Kennedy, a radiologist, misread a scan of

her brain as normal, the claim alleged.

The woman returned to the ER the following week, as the headaches had

grown worse. Only then did doctors discover that she had a blood clot in

her brain. By then, her brain had begun to swell, causing permanent brain

damage.

Dr. Shivshankar Uchila Navada, a Clarksburg neurosurgeon, saw the woman

after CT scans revealed the blood clot. But Navada operated on the woman's

The woman was flown to Charleston, where another neurosurgeon saved her

life. But brain swelling caused a temporary coma and a stroke-like

condition. She lost the ability to both walk and speak.

Navada settled out of the case for $1.65 million. The settlements by

Kennedy and Navada paid for crucial rehabilitation care for the woman that

partly restored her speech and ability to walk, one court filing said. But

both skills remain impaired, and she is considered disabled for life.

- Dr. Dwarka N. Vemuri paid $4 million to settle claims by three

different women, including a 69-year-old nun, who accused the Wheeling

cardiologist of fraud. Vemuri performed unnecessary angioplasties, surgery

to open blocked blood vessels, on all three, their claims alleged.

One alleged a torn artery from the process required emergency surgery to

repair.

- Dr. Stuart Henry Fox has paid $2.7 million to settle eight

claims filed against him. The Huntington obstetrician was ordered

to pay $177,578 by a 1999 jury in a ninth claim, while another jury

cleared him in a 10th.

At least three of these cases blamed Fox for a death, while a fourth

faulted him for a botched abortion-related procedure.

Fox's medical license was placed on probation in 1994 after the widower

of one of Fox's patients complained to the state Board of Medicine. The

man's wife had gone to Fox for a hysterectomy, and died two weeks later of

complications from the procedure. The claim alleged the hysterectomy was

unnecessary and unadvisable because of her weight, liver and

blood-clotting problems.

A 1998 report on the board's action said Fox was performing up to 60

hysterectomies a year, and that his insurer settled the widower's claim

for $775,000 without his consent. He filed for bankruptcy last year,

records said.

- Dr. Oscar Solidum Irisari has paid $1.9 million since 1993 to resolve

four malpracticeclaims. A fifth case was dismissed against

the Moundsville obstetrician during that time.

One settled claim blamed Irisari for brain damage suffered by an infant

born in 1993. Another alleged a delay in diagnosing breast cancer in a

32-year-old woman.

Prior records show Irisari had paid, through his insurers, $3.5 million

to settle eight other malpracticeclaims between 1984 and

1993. The Board of Medicine fined Irisari in the 1980s for failing to

report one of those settlements, mandated by state law. He was required to

pass a competency exam after the board disciplined him again, in 1994,

records said.

- Dr. Conrad D. Tamea Jr. had 12 claims reported between 1993

and 2000. One ended in a $120,000 jury verdict, while three others settled

for a total of $383,000. The remaining claims were dismissed.

The settled claims accused the orthopedic surgeon of botching a

1994 jury found against Tamea after he allegedly failed to diagnose bone

disease in a 15-year-old boy.

- Dr. Boonlua Lucktong paid $2.5 million to settle four claims

filed against him over his work at the Beckley Veterans Affairs Medical

Center.

Two of those claims blamed Lucktong for deaths at the VA center.

The Board of Medicine suspended his license in 1996, and required him to

pass a competency exam. After he failed the exam, the board revoked his

license the following year.

The federal government initially balked at reporting the claims

to the state Board of Medicine. State officials secured an order from a

federal judge to compel the VA to follow the reporting law.

The VA paid the claims against Lucktong on his behalf. Insurance

companies paid the other claims listed above on the behalf of those

doctors.

To contact staff writer Lawrence Messina, use e-mail or call 348-4869.