WRONGFUL DEATH / MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AGAINT RONALD GASKIN, MD

            COME NOW Plaintiffs, Velma Hardester and Mary Jo Melton, by and through their attorneys, and for Count I of their cause of action against Defendant, Ronald Gaskin, M.D., states as follows:

            1.         That Plaintiffs, Velma Hardester and Mary Jo Melton, are residents of the State of Missouri and Plaintiff Velma Hardester is the spouse of Decedent, Ronald Hardester, and Plaintiff Mary Jo Melton is the only child of the Decedent, Ronald Hardester, who died on December 10, 2004.

            2.         This cause of action is brought by Plaintiffs pursuant to R.S.Mo. § 537.080, commonly known as the Wrongful Death Statute, which allows Plaintiffs to bring this cause of action for the death of their spouse and father, Ronald Hardester.

            3.         That Defendant, Ronald Gaskin, M.D., is a medical doctor and a resident of the State of Missouri and licensed to practice medicine in the State of Missouri and that at all times mentioned herein he operated within the course and scope of his agency and employment as an agent and employee of Tenet St Alexius Hospital, Inc. and Tenet Heath Systems Hospitals, Inc. including its gastric bypass program, New Start – The Center for Surgical Weight Reduction (hereinafter referred to as “New Start”).

            4.         That at all times mentioned herein, Ronald Gaskin, M.D. was an agent of Southwest Medical Center, Inc., Tenet St Alexius Hospitals, Inc., and Tenet Health System Hospitals, Inc. by virtue of arrangements, contracts, assignment of contracts, and buyout agreements among and between: Tenet Health Systems, DI-TPS, Inc. (a defunct company related to Tenet St Alexius Hospitals, Inc. and Tenet Health System Hospitals, Inc. herein); Southwest Medical Center, Inc. and the physicians previously employed by Tenet Health Systems, DI-TPS, Inc., including Ronald Gaskin, M.D., said agreements entered into about January 2001.

            5.         That prior to January 2001, Gaskin was an employee of Tenet Health Systems, DI-TPS, Inc., and was acting as a New Start bariatric surgeon for Tenet St Alexius Hospitals, Inc. and Tenet Health System Hospitals, Inc.

            6.         That by virtue of the arrangements and understandings among Southwest Medical Center, Inc., Ronald Gaskin M.D., Tenet St Alexius Hospitals, Inc., and Tenet Health System Hospitals, Inc. (wherein Tenet Health Systems, DI-TPS, Inc, terminated its agreement with a group of physicians, including Gaskin, and Southwest Medical Center, Inc. was created by many of these physicians and assumed the position of Tenet Health Systems, DI-TPS, Inc.), Ronald Gaskin, M.D. received compensation and benefits as an employee of Southwest Medical Center, Inc. and continued to provide services for Tenet St Alexius Hospitals, Inc. and Tenet Health System Hospitals, Inc., as a bariatric  surgeon in the New Start program.

            7.         That at all times mentioned herein Defendants, Tenet St. Alexius Hospital, Inc. and Tenet Health System Hospitals, Inc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as “St. Alexius Hospital”) are corporations authorized to do business in the State of Missouri that own and manage St. Alexius Hospital and New Start and granted privileges to and employed Defendant, Ronald Gaskin, M.D., as a physician for New Start.

            8.         That St. Alexius Hospital represented to the Plaintiffs, the Decedent, and the public that Defendant, Ronald Gaskin M.D., was a competent bariatric surgeon and was a physician in New Start’s panel of Bariatric Surgeons and a New Start team member.   

            9.         That in October of 2002, the Decedent, Ronald Hardester, came under the care and treatment of New Start, and was admitted to St. Alexius Hospital in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, under the care of Ronald Gaskin, M.D. and the New Start program and during the course of said treatment, including the October 30, 2002, gastric bypass procedure and follow up care directly related thereto, Ronald Hardester died after he sustained a leak and subsequent infections, destruction of his internal organs, and suffered the following injuries: totally debilitating illnesses and infections; decubitis ulcers on his body, buttock and back; damage and destruction of his internal organs and digestive system. Decedent required scores of surgeries; was in the intensive care unit for months and hospitalized for the last years of his life; that Decedent suffered total disability, great physical pain, and mental anguish before his death.

            10.       That during the course of care to the Decedent, Ronald Hardester, Defendant,  Ronald Gaskin, M.D., was negligent and through his negligence he directly and proximately caused the death of the Decedent, Ronald Hardester, in the following respects:

                        A.        Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to perform the gastric bypass procedure properly so as to sew and over sew all parts of the digestive system that were altered and failed to properly divide the remnant stomach from the pouch;

                        B.         Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to properly and timely diagnosis and treat a post-operative gastrointestinal leak, abscess, wound breakdown, fistula, peritonitis, and infection;

                        C.        Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to timely treat decubitis ulcers on the back and buttock of Ronald Hardester;

                        D.        Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to provide orders for treatment to prevent the development of decubitis ulcers on the back and buttock of Ronald Hardester;

                        E.         Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to perform a diversion or closure of the leak in the digestive system when the leak and abscess was or should have been discovered;

                        F.         That Ronald Gaskin, M.D. proceeded with the gastric bypass procedure when he knew or should have known that his failure rate for serious complications was significantly higher than the acceptable rates of other physicians as reported in the profession and further failed to obtain adequate informed consent regarding his failure rate and the other risks of the surgery;

                        G.        That Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to obtain adequate training, attain, and maintain proficiency prior to performing bariatric surgery on Ronald Hardester;

                        H.        That Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to communicate with the New Start and St. Alexius Hospital staff and physicians regarding the symptoms and signs reported by Ronald Hardester after discharge from the hospital and failed to instruct Ronald Hardester in the proper post-discharge care and follow up treatment; and

                        I.          That Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to provide or recommend that Ronald Hardester stay in the St. Louis area after discharge to permit adequate follow up treatment and failed to instruct Ronald Hardester regarding symptoms and signs that must be reported and why they must be reported, and failed to give Ronald Hardester the proper contact information regarding reporting problem or concerns;

                        J.          That Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to provide adequate informed consent to Ronald Hardester;

                        K.        That Ronald Gaskin, M.D. was aware that prospective surgery candidates attended seminars given by New Start and that the information provided to patients, including Ronald Hardester, at New Start seminars was misleading and untrue and he failed to provide adequate informed consent to correct the misinformation regarding the general and his specific complication rates advertised at the seminars;

                        L.         That Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to take the advice given to him by his consultants, Dr. Hardy, M.D. and Dr. Slom, M.D., that Ronald Hardester had a gastrointestinal leak within his differential diagnosis and needed to be treated accordingly with immediate exploratory surgery to correct this problem but he failed to act;

                        M.        That Ronald Gaskin, M.D. failed to perform an immediate exploratory abdominal surgery to look for problems on 11/15/2002, when Ronald Hardester had a high index for suspicion of a leak.

            11.       That as the direct and proximate result of the negligence of the Defendant, Ronald Gaskin, M.D., as aforesaid, Ronald Hardester died and Plaintiffs sustained and claim the following damages: loss of services, consortium, support, companionship, comfort, guidance, counsel, instruction and the reasonable costs associated with the burial of the Decedent, as well as, the medical bills to treat his condition in excess of six million dollars and the pain, suffering, mental anguish, and emotional distress of Ronald Hardester.  

            WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs, Velma Hardester and Mary Joe Melton, pray for judgment against Defendant, Ronald Gaskin, M.D., in an amount that is fair and reasonable and well in excess of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), for costs herein expended and whatever other relief the Court deems just and proper.