President Biden’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health has been named as a defendant in four medical malpractice cases, including wrongful-death claims, conservative groups have revealed.
Although malpractice claims against doctors are relatively common in the US, the American Accountability Foundation argued the facts of the case against Dr. Monica Bertagnolli is “alarming” and “raises serious questions about her medical abilities, supervisory skills and character.”
Biden nominated Bertagnolli, director of the National Cancer Institute, to lead the NIH in May. His nomination to lead the agency that oversees public funding for health research is pending before the Senate.
Other malpractice cases against Bertagnolli include an alleged botched hernia surgery, an alleged delay in diagnosing the plaintiff’s colon cancer, and a case involving an alleged late cancer diagnosis in which he was named as a co-defendant.
Dr. Monica Bertagnolli revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, but insists the prognosis is “favorable.”
According to the American Medical Association, about half of doctors age 55 and older have been sued, but the AAF points out that only “7% of medical malpractice cases end in trial.” One of the claims against Bertagnolli — the failed hernia case — ended up in trial, with an ongoing wrongful-death suit poised to follow.
The first case cited by the AAF was a New York malpractice suit alleging Bertagnolli improperly performed hernia repair surgery in 1996 on a patient named Iva Falcon using sutures instead of mesh.
The Falcon suffered complications and two additional surgeries, but Bertagnolli stood by the decision, arguing that both types of repair were equally valid, per the AAF. Expert witnesses disputed Bertagnolli’s claims and Falcon himself testified that the doctor quickly realized what he had done.
President Biden has praised Dr. Monica Bertagnolli as “a world-class physician scientist.” The Washington Post via Getty Images
“He asked me, ‘Didn’t I put a net inside you?’ And I told him, ‘You’re a doctor, I’m sleeping,’” Falcon said on the stand. “He then left the office, came back in, ran his hands through his hair, said, ‘How could I have forgotten to put a net inside you?'”
The jury ultimately ordered Bertagnolli to pay the plaintiff $450,000 in damages.
An ongoing wrongful death case originates in Massachusetts. In that case, the estate of plaintiff Jazmine Sneed, who died at age 34 in 2019, alleges incompetence and negligence in diagnosing cancer.
Dr. Monica Bertagnolli has served as director of the National Cancer Institute since last October. MediaNews Group via Getty Images
Sneed received an MRI in late 2015 for lower back pain, but it was negative for a tumor. About 15 months later, Sneed was diagnosed with cancer and subsequently ended the relationship with Bertagnolli. A hearing in the matter has been scheduled for May 20, 2025.
A second cancer-related lawsuit was filed in 2000, when plaintiff Helene Levinson sued for alleged failure to diagnose colon cancer. It was terminated with prejudice in August 2004, suggesting a possible settlement.
In that case, Bertagnolli claims he was not present on April 11, 1999, when an attending physician saw Levinson and the medical team first interpreted a specific enema to mean “no evidence of colonic obstruction.”
Medical malpractice lawsuits are very common in the US.MediaNews Group via Getty Images
About six months later, Levinson was readmitted and his cancer was “diagnosed too late,” leading to a lengthy hospital stay and intensive surgery, according to the AAF. Levinson’s team accused Bertagnolli and his colleagues of a “lack of communication” regarding patient treatment.
The fourth case dates from 1999 and names Bertagnolli as a co-defendant. The plaintiff, Donna Faulborn, alleges that she suffered “severe and permanent injuries” from “negligent performance” during paravaginal repair surgery.
The suit was also dismissed with prejudice, again indicating a possible settlement.
AAF has gone after Dr. Monica Bertagnolli before. The Washington Post via Getty Images
“In the context of Bertagnolli’s three other malpractice suits, however, this case is yet another example of Bertagnolli being the subject of troubling allegations of negligence,” AAF argued.
The White House, the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health did not respond to requests for comment.
In announcing his nomination, Biden praised Bertagnolli as “a world-class medical scientist whose vision and leadership will ensure that NIH continues to be an engine of innovation to improve the health of the American people.”
Bertagnolli is an award-winning surgical oncologist and breast cancer patient herself.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said he had endorsed Bertagnolli for the NIH post, praising his “very strong academic record” and leadership style.
“He has the kind of personality that I think is important for an NIH director,” Fauci told the Washington Post at the time of his nomination. “He was firm in his principles, but he was a very likable, easygoing, people person.”
NIH’s top post has been held by an acting director — Lawrence Tabak — for more than a year. Bertagnolli would be the second woman to lead the NIH if confirmed.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
