Belleville anesthesiologist accused of malpractice

A Belleville doctor is accused of stabbing one of her patients in the spine with a needle during surgery.

Martin Ercoline filed a lawsuit April 22 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Dr. Kristina Naseer and St. Elizabeth's Hospital of The Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. HSHS Medical Group Inc., doing business as HSHS Medical Group Pain Management, is also named as a defendant.

Ercoline was a patient of Dr. Naseer, an anesthesiologist at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, and underwent an epidural steroid injection procedure in May 2011, the complaint reads. During the operation, Dr. Naseer was allegedly operating the C-arm component of the imaging equipment and stabbed Ercoline in the spine.

Ercoline claims he has had numbness in his hand and pain since the procedure. He accuses the doctor and the hospital of negligence and asks for more than $225,000 in damages for medical expenses, lost wages and court costs.

Attorney Samantha S. Unsell of Belleville represents Ercoline.

St. Clair County Circuit Court Case No. 13-L-208