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OVERLAKE HOSPITAL IS ONE SCARY PLACE
1. Scott Bonvallet MD Pulmonary/Sleep is an Arrogant LIAR, falsified records, incompetent and alienates his staff and families
2. James Stroh MD Allergy often misdiagnoses obvious allergy problems, incompetent
3. Charles Jackson MD Allergy is verbally abusive, violates patient privacy and
incompetent
4. Gregory Bennett MD ER is incompetent, misdiagnoses often and has made inappropriate comments to female patients in the ER
5. Ronald O Quin MD Pulmonary/Critical Care is rude, misdiagnoses often and reluctant to question peer errors
6. Cuc Nguyen, MD Psychiatry is clueless doesn't listen, keeps inaccurate records, no longer employed
7. Theresa Black MD Psychiatry is unqualified, incompetent and no longer employed
8. Britton Georges MD Allergy is a gutless follower too afraid to question peers, groped
Webmaster
9. Steve Marshall MD ER is power hungry, does sloppy work, practices medicine for profit, condecends to patients
10. Michael Halperin MD ER is mean, misdiagnoses often, keeps innacurate records, failed to question wrong diagnosis, lazy researcher
11. John Moore MD ER sold out by Overlake lawyer as incompetent in a state investigation
12. Jeffrey Dunn MD Neurology is just a high priced lackey, failed to acknowledge abnormal lab results and has a poor bedside manner
DETAILS ARE IN CASE FILES ON REQUEST IN DETAIL. READ ON!
OVERLAKE
RESPIRATORY THERAPIST THREATENS WEBMASTER
Respiratory Therapist, Patricia Martinell McQueen, threatened the Webmaster of this site with
serious bodily harm or death if the Webmaster returned for patient care, even in an emergency. Martinell McQueen also repeatedly sent the Webmaster very graphic and
offensive pornography to harass her, the threat and emails are on this site on the Freaks and Fans page. Martinell McQueen was not fired or disciplined at all until
Overlake administrators feared the matter could jeopardize their plans to build
a $200 million facility in Issaquah, which it did. Patricia Martinell McQueen was
fired 3 years after the threats to appear just in the public eye and she was ordered
to pay the state a fine and mandated to undergo psychiatric counseling for
abusing and terrorizing a patient.
PARTICIA MARTINELL MCQUEEN ON FILE AT STATE DEPTARTMENT OF HEALTH CASE #05 01 B 1056LR
DISCIPLINE AND FIRED
OVERLAKE
PHYSICIANS HAVE SEX WITH MANY VULNERABLE PATIENTS
JOHN DIPPEL MD, PSYCHIATRY ON FILE WITH STATE DEPTARTMENT OF HEALTH CASE # 03 05 A 1086 MD
LICENSE REVOKED FOR SEX WITH PATIENT
CHARLES FLAKE MD, OB/GYN ON FILE WITH STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CASE
#05 07 A 1022 MD
LICENSED
SUSPENDED FOR SEX WITH 5 PATIENTS
FEATURED CASE DOCUMENTS OVERLAKE LEGACY OF TRAGEDY IN 5 STATES
BRITT BORDEN MD
NEUROSURGEON
1997
Sued in West Virginia for harm caused in surgery done while
participating in fellowship program at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He
performed anterior cervical diskectomy on a woman to address pain from scar
tissue resulting from prior procedure. Borden operated at wrong level: C7-T1
instead of C6-C7. Caused permanent damage to laryngeal/ recurrent nerve. Lawsuit dismissed, reversed and reinstated on appeal. Washburn v Klara, 263 Va. 536,
561 S.E.2d 682 (2002). Ultimate disposition of case unknown, check
with attorney:
Judith Cofield
1321 Laskin Rd, # 203, Virginia
Beach, VA 23451
(757) 422-4858 (757) 721-3725 (757) 422-3485 (fax)
Email:
jmcofield@cox.net
1998
While lawsuit in Virginia is pending, Borden gets recruited
by Michael Schlitt, MD, a neurosurgeon in Kent, WA to come to King County to
open a practice. Shares office space with Schlitt, and gets referrals from him.
Receives privileges to practice at local hospitals, including Valley Medical
Center in Kent and Overlake Hospital in Bellevue.
During first year performing lumbar spinal surgeries at
Valley, Borden has a dural tear rate of about 21%; 5% or less is acceptable.
Valley takes unspecified Quality Assurance (QA) action against Borden. Valley
and Borden refuse to disclose details, asserting statutory peer review
privilege. Valley Chief of Staff Schlitt also discusses care issues with Borden,
which he refuses to disclose.
1999
1/99: Linda Guile sees Dr Schlitt for low back pain.
Schlitt refers her to Borden because Schlitt did not accept her insurance.
Schlitt does not tell her of his concerns with Borden's surgical skills, or of
QA issues with Borden's performance of lumbar spine surgeries at Valley. Linda
Guile sees Borden, has discogram.
2/8/99: Dr Borden recommended instrumented fusion at L5-S1
to be performed at Valley. No one at Valley tells Linda Guile of previous Q/A
action taken against Borden because of dural tears in lumbar surgeries at
Valley.
2/12/99: Borden does surgery. Loses control of surgical
drill, which perforates dural covering of Linda Guile's spinal cord, causing
permanent irreversible damage. He sews up hole and prepares dishonest operative
report, trying to cover up how he perforated the dura. Borden asks ARNP
assisting him not to tell Dr Schlitt about tear.
2/14/99: Borden tells patient he "nicked the dura". When
patient asked if he caused nerve damage, Borden falsely states "no". He then
leaves and goes to Hawaii on vacation.
2/15-18/99: Linda Guile experiences persistent perianal
numbness and pain. Neurosurgeon Christopher Smythies examines her because Borden
is gone. Discovers that she has cerebro-spinal fluid leak, which could leave her
paralyzed. He re-opens surgical site, finds that Borden's faulty repair of
dural tear was leaking. He re-opens the tear and properly closes. Describes the
condition of nerves inside as "mush".
Linda guile left with neurogenic bowel and bladder,
intractable perianal and leg pain, loss of sexual function and collapse of
internal organs. Undergoes multiple surgeries, has to restrict her normal full
time work, has to sell home, has to revise retirement plans for her and her
husband.
Guile sued Borden and Valley. Case settled for Borden's
Policy limits of $1,000,000 and $200,000 from Valley
After surgery Borden "resigns" privileges at Valley.
Schlitt ends their office sharing relationship.
3/16/99: Barbara Ristvedt sees Borden at his clinic in
Bellevue for back pain. He recommends 3 level lumbar laminectomy and one level
lumbar microdiskectomy, to be performed at Overlake. No one tells Ristvedt of
Borden's history at Valley, and the end of his privileges there.
4/6/99: Borden operates on Ristvedt at Overlake, and tears
the dura in her lumbar spine, causing nerve damage. Patient left with
permanently impaired bowel and bladder function, perianal numbness and pain.
Ristvedt sued Borden. Settled for $400,000.
Overlake institutes Q/A proceedings against Borden. Has to
perform next 20 surgeries under supervision.
5/99: Borden sees patient who has thoracic vertebrae
fracture form fall. Talks him into having a thoracic fusion, virtually unheard
of treatment for such an injury. Conservative, non surgical treatment is
mainstream therapy of choice. Patient is left with pain and disability, which
forces him to change careers. No one told patient of Borden's history or Q/A
restrictions.
No suit filed. Patient was unaware of expiration of statute
of limitations. Summer/Fall of 1999: Borden leaves Washington and moves to
California.
Borden was also served with a restraining order for a
domestic violence issue around this same time. He was accused of beating up a
girlfriend.
2002: Borden moves to Aberdeen, South Dakota and opens
neurosurgical practice.
7-8/02: Borden operates on Marilyn Zubke for fractured
vertebrae suffered in auto collision. First surgery supposed to involve placing
hooks and rods at six vertebral levels, above and below the fracture, to
stabilize it. Borden places no hardware below the fracture, increasing the
pressure on the break.
This requires second surgery. In this procedure, Borden
removed three intervetebral disks, an two levels of vertebrae, replacing them
with a metal cage. He then inserted hooks and rods that extended nine levels. He
inserted the rods straight, rather than shaped to the contour of the patient's
spine. The patient's pain required a third surgery, this time in a spine center
in Minneapolis. This involved removal of the rods and insertion of longer
screws. Patient can no longer work the family farm with her husband. She sleeps
on her side in a chair, never on her stomach, and usually sparsely.
Ultimate disposition of case unknown, contact attorney (and
SD state Senator):
SCHOENBECK, Lee A.
Schoenbeck Law Office
P.O. Box 181, Webster, SD 57274
Tele: (605) 345-4613 Fax: (605) 345-4614
E-mail address:
triallaw@itctel.com
2005 - A patient scheduled for surgery by Borden in Leawood,
Kansas contacted Elizabeth via website
www.overlakehospital.com (medicalerrors@aol.com).
She cancelled her procedure and went to another facility. The local press in
Leawood was contacted and Borden was then briefly suspended by Kansas medical
board for lying on application but his lawyer got him off and he is back in
action.
How long will it take for him to hurt someone? There's a
pool on this.
JOSEPH J. AUSTIN MD
DROP KICKS ADOPTED DAUGHTER
Overlake Hospital's Chief Cardiac Surgeon Joseph J.
Austin, from Canada, and his ex-wife, Sylvan Marisa Di Giacomo, adopted a 9 year
old Romanian girl in 1991 into their Ontario, Canada home. The child was not an
orphan or even up for adoption at all, but the Austins met the child while
traveling and convinced the birth mother she was overwhelmed by her 7 children
and they could give her nine year old a better life in Canada. The woman
reluctantly hoped this would be true. But 5 months into the legal adoption,
all seemed fine, the Austins sent the child back with no explanation at all.
The little girl was now considered Canadian by Romania and Romanian by Canada. The child found herself without a country, despite being legally part of the
Austin family. She was unable to be educated in Romania legally as a result due
to Romanian citizenship laws. The girl is now a struggling 23 year-old single
mother in Romania with nothing but a 3rd grade education and working
sporadically as a janitor to survive. The Austins never stepped up to help this child.
Joseph Austin MD in is one of Overlake's highest paid physicians.
The story was so egregious, a Canadian film company made a
documentary called "Return to Sender" which aired on the CBC February 2005. See
link for full story.
Sent back after 5 months, adopted Romanian sues
