A doctor at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Md., and the hospital are defendants in a class action lawsuit accusing them of implanting unnecessary coronary stents in 369 patients.
The hospital’s cardiology business is already under federal investigation over the procedures, which came to light after St. Joseph’s sent letters to the patients informing them that their stent implantations might not have been needed.
Last week a class action lawsuit was filed in Baltimore County Circuit Court, according to news reports, demanding in part that the hospital stop performing stent implantations, according to the Baltimore Sun. St. Joseph performs about 6,500 cardiac procedures a year and last year reported the placement of its 100,000th coronary stent since 1980.
And dozens of personal injuries lawyers are busy trolling the waters for clients who might have a case against the hospital and Dr. Mark Midei, the only doctor so far implicated in the case, according to the Sun.