Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowNineteen new lawsuits and a complaint with the Indiana Attorney General's Office have been filed against three northwestern Indiana cardiologists and a hospital, alleging that open-heart surgeries and other procedures were performed unnecessarily, lawyers said Tuesday.
The lawsuits were filed either in state courts or with the Indiana Department of Insurance against Drs. Arvind Gandhi, S. Makam and Wail Asfour of Munster-based Cardiology Associates of Northwest Indiana, attorneys said at a news conference. They also filed a complaint Monday with the Attorney General's Office for referral to the Indiana Medical Licensing Board.
An attorney for the cardiology practice had no comment on the lawyers' claims. A message seeking comment was left for Munster's Community Hospital, which also is named as a defendant.
"More and more families throughout northwestern Indiana now know they or their family members were subjected to cardiac surgeries and other procedures that were unnecessary and dangerous," said Cohen & Malad LLP attorney David Cutshaw, part of the legal team representing 25 patients and the families of three deceased former patients.
The new lawsuits brought to 28 the number filed against the defendants. The complaints also allege unnecessary implantations of pacemakers and defibrillators, death caused by unnecessary pacemaker installation, and unnecessary angiograms and stenting.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.