EAST ST. LOUIS – Memorial Hospital and the federal government moved last week to bar Des Plaines clinic president Romi Chopra from a malpractice trial in October, claiming his report came two months late and broke other rules.
The government moved to strike his report and bar his testimony on April 25, and the hospital moved to bar his testimony on April 27.
They asked Chief District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel to enforce a scheduling order that required disclosure of rebuttal experts by Feb. 17.
Plaintiff Craig Scott claims the hospital’s negligence in managing his conditions resulted in amputation of a foot.
Scott claims the Air Force and Health and Human Services failed to deliver a fax that could have saved the foot.
Nathaniel Brown of Belleville represents Scott.
Chopra, who runs Midwest Institute for Minimally Invasive Therapies, signed the report on April 14.
He found doctors incorrectly diagnosed Scott’s condition.
He found highly suggestive evidence that Scott’s deterioration was the product of peripheral artery disease rather than Buerger’s disease.
He found that with appropriate care, Scott’s condition would have been managed with medication and endovascular or surgical vascular intervention if necessary.
“From review of the medical records dating back at least to his arterial thrombus in 2006, no clinician made a reasonable attempt to determine the underlying cause of Mr. Scott’s reported vascular problems and provide appropriate management for those problems,” Chopra wrote.
“The clinical course of my patients, representative of the general patient population with the conditions similar to Mr. Scott, demonstrate that with appropriate management and education, these patients can likely avoid limb loss and lead healthy, productive life styles.”
In the government’s motion to strike and bar, assistant U.S. attorney Nicholas Biersbach disputed that the military clinic received the faxes.
He claimed Chopra insinuated that someone at the hospital, the civilian clinic, or Christian Hospital committed wrongdoing.
He claimed Chopra failed to identify a provider from these facilities who should have undertaken any action when action was necessary.
“If allegations are attributable to a Southern Illinois Health Foundation physician, then that is the first time the United States would be aware of them,” he wrote.
“Depending on when the conduct occurred, defenses would need to be explored for care that occurred so long ago.”
In the hospital’s motion, Kristine Mack of Belleville claimed Chopra’s report was untimely and outside the scope of a rebuttal.
She wrote that his opinions “constitute criticism of providers not presently defendants in this lawsuit.”
She claimed it appeared that Chopra wasn’t contacted until April 6.
“Evidence that is only offered as additional support of a party’s argument and that does not contradict any evidence introduced by the opposing party is not proper rebuttal,” she wrote.