Kansas man wins jury award in medical malpractice case

Plaintiff alleged doctor erred in not draining abscess

Jennifer Mann//December 23, 2013//

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A Buchanan County jury has awarded a Kansas man $4.3 million against a St. Joseph urologist in a medical malpractice case.

According to the lawsuit, Douglas Stewart, 34 at the time, went to a doctor on May 7, 2009, complaining of pelvic and rectal pain and pain when urinating, all hindering his ability to walk.

The doctor prescribed two antibiotics and told Stewart that if he wasn’t better within three days to return for more treatment. Stewart’s condition worsened over that three-day period, and on May 11 he was admitted to Heartland Regional Hospital in St. Joseph, according to the lawsuit.

A CT scan showed an abscess near the base of Stewart’s prostate. Stewart’s doctor treated him with intravenous antibiotics and then consulted with the defendant, Dr. Krikor O. Partamian, according to the suit.

Two days later, determining that the current antibiotic combination was not working, Partamian switched the patient to a new treatment, discontinuing the first two antibiotics and using two different ones after lab cultures gave a more definitive diagnosis. Meanwhile, Partamian opted to not drain the abscess as he didn’t think Stewart, who has Type 1 diabetes, was a good candidate for surgery, according to the suit.

Seven days after he was admitted, Stewart’s complaint detailed how the prostate abscess ruptured, spreading a gangrene infection into Stewart’s penis, scrotum, perineum and pelvis, and he remained in the hospital until June 18.

As a result of the rupture and subsequent surgical treatment, Stewart now suffers from erectile dysfunction, post void dribbling and pain, the suit says.

Paul L. Redfearn, of The Redfearn Law Firm in Independence, said the doctor erred in not draining Stewart’s abscess sooner.

“His reasoning for his decision is that the first two antibiotics did not provide coverage for the bacteria circulating, so he wanted to give the new antibiotics more time to work and they were providing coverage for the bacteria circulating in his body,” Redfearn said. “From our viewpoint, if it does not quickly respond, then you have to drain it, as, regardless of the antibiotic changes, he was getting worse.”

Redfearn said that after a five-day trial, and after deliberating for two-and-a-half hours, the Buchanan County jury agreed with the plaintiff, awarding him $4.3 million in actual damages, including $401,727 in past economic damages, $1.5 million in past noneconomic damages and $2,398,273 in future noneconomic damages.

Stewart has returned to his job as a jailer in the Doniphan County Sheriff’s Office, in northeast Kansas.

“The jury did a good job under tough circumstances involving a local doctor,” Redfearn said.

Meanwhile, Timothy Aylward of Horn, Aylward & Bandy in Kansas City, who represented Partamian, contended that the doctor’s treatment course was appropriate.

“Our theory,” Aylward said, “was that it is acceptable practice to try the conservative approach first and give it a fair try.”

$4.3 million verdict

Medical Malpractice

Venue: Buchanan County Circuit Court