Putnam County (Hurricane, WV) Circuit Court Judge O.C. Spaulding has approved settlements totaling $2.4 million for three malpractice lawsuits involving Dr. John A. King and Putnam General Hospital and the hospital’s former owner, Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America Inc. Dr. King had practiced at Putnam General from November 2002 to June 2003. The lawsuits allege King, an osteopath, botched surgeries or otherwise harmed patients during his six-month stint at the hospital. A total of 124 suits were filed.
Of the three cases which settled one patient died three years after multiple infections resulting from back surgery. A second patient never regained consciousness after a spinal operation. The third patient died less than three months after surgery to repair fractures and counter infections. “I have never experienced anything like these 124 cases in my 15 years on the bench,” Spaulding said. “These cases have generated a tremendous amount of publicity, both in West Virginia and nationally.”
Records show King has been licensed in more than a dozen states but has surrendered, lost his license or had his license suspended in at least six. He let his license expire in two other states.
Do the tort reformers believe that greedy patients and their lawyers are abusing the system? I believe that Dr. King has abused his patients!