A TEACHER who came out of a two-week coma because of an infection due to a bile duct leakage following a gall bladder removal operation has sued the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation and Dr. Mark A. Hiesterman for medical malpractice in local court.
Arayanee Ann Sablan Maratita, represented by attorney Michael Dotts, also wants the Superior Court to declare that the statutory limitation of a $100,000 award for serious injury malpractice claims is discriminative and unconstitutional.
Maratita is suing CHCC for negligent hiring. She is alleging that the local hospital conducting a background check would reveal Dr. Hiesterman’s “possible addiction to alcohol and his inability to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety.”
The civil complaint, filed on March 18, is seeking a $2 million award for past, present and future medical expenses and related living costs in an amount to be determined at trial.
In addition, the complaint is seeking $100,000 for emotional distress, pain and suffering, and lost enjoyment of life; and $200,000 past and future lost wages in an amount to be determined at trial.
The lawsuit wants the court to issue an order and a declaratory judgment that finds that the limits set on liability by 7 CMC § 2202(a)(1) are unconstitutional.
Background
According to the lawsuit, on Jan. 9, 2020, Dr. Hiesterman, an employee of CHCC, performed laparoscopic surgery on Maratita to remove her gallbladder.
The gallbladder was removed, but Maratita did not feel quite right after the surgery and was in extreme pain.
She sought to stay in the hospital for post-operative care and to be observed for complications, but instead she was discharged by Dr. Hiesterman and sent home with pain medications, her lawsuit stated.
On Jan. 10, 2020, a day after the surgery, Maratita went back to the emergency room due to acute abdominal pain near the site of the surgery.
Dr. Hiesterman was consulted, and he thought she had gas pain and prescribed her stronger medication for pain control.
Maratita still felt immense pain and nausea and she was admitted to CHCC on Jan. 12, 2020.
A CT scan was performed over Maratita’s pelvic area on Jan. 13, 2020.
According to her lawsuit, a report from Dr. Khandelwal showed fluid in her abdomen, and bile duct leakage was cited as one of the possible causes for the fluid.
“Despite this report from Dr. Khandelwal, Dr. Hiesterman failed to investigate the fluid retention in Maratita’s stomach and discharged her on January 14th with more pain medication,” the lawsuit stated.
After being discharged on Jan. 14, Maratita’s pain and vomiting grew worse, and her stomach became visibly larger by the day.
Another CT scan was performed on her on Jan. 18, and it revealed a significant amount of fluid in her abdomen.
Only after a third CT scan on the 24th where the fluid buildup was seen to have significantly worsened did Dr. Hiesterman perform surgery on Maratita to insert a device to drain the fluid in her abdomen, the lawsuit stated.
But the device was not positioned correctly, and Maratita had to undergo another surgery on Feb. 3 to reposition it, the lawsuit stated.
Maratita was discharged right after her Feb. 3 surgery, but she came back to the hospital soon after due to excruciating pain and was finally transported to Los Angeles on Feb. 10 for an “ERCP,” a procedure to fix the bile duct leak that was causing the fluid buildup in her abdomen, the lawsuit stated.
This procedure was not available on Saipan.
After arriving in Los Angeles, Maratita went into septic shock because the bile leak caused a whole-body infection that was not properly controlled at CHCC, the lawsuit stated.
Maratita went into a coma for two and half weeks and tubes were inserted into her to help her breathe and eat.
“After coming out of her coma, Maratita had a successful surgery at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles to fix her bile leak. However, the neurological damage from the septic shock had already occurred,” the lawsuit stated.
Maratita couldn’t speak, walk, eat, or use her hands, it added.
The doctors in Los Angeles prescribed her speech, physical and occupational therapy and sent her back to CHCC to take care of the remainder of her treatment since her presence in Los Angeles was just for a specialized procedure that the local hospital did not have the ability to perform.
Maratita arrived back on Saipan in early June 2020 and remained in CHCC’s care from June to October 2020 for complications of the bile duct leakage and post-operative care.
Maratita was seen by the doctors at CHCC for neurological damage.
As part of the neurological damage, she felt a constant choking sensation, her lawsuit stated.
Her last visit to CHCC was on Oct. 1, 2020.
She departed soon after for Hawaii, the nearest location where her prescribed speech, physical and occupational therapies were available.
“After one year of therapy, her speech impediment is still very severe, and she still requires assistance for everyday tasks such as eating, getting dressed, and going to the restroom. It will take Maratita many years to fully recover to a point where she will no longer require assistance for everyday tasks and is able to go back to her previous job as a teacher,” her lawsuit stated.
Maratita’s organs and her brain have been permanently damaged by the septic shock and/or the coma, the lawsuit added.
“As a result, she suffers from neurological conditions in the form of a constant choking sensation, head shaking, and involuntary crossing of the eye. She still lacks the use of her hands. She also suffers from a heart condition and a digestive condition due to the septic shock/coma.”
A comprehensive examination of the effect of the septic shock has not been conducted, but it is highly likely that it would unearth additional undiagnosed conditions, the lawsuit stated.
On Dec. 21, 2021, Maratita sent her claims to the CNMI Office of the Attorney General pursuant to the requirements of 7 CMC § 2202(b) (P.L. 15-22), thus tolling the statute of limitation of the present complaint.
In her letter to the AG, Maratita demanded $2 million for past, present and future medical expenses and related living costs, $100,000 for emotional distress, pain and suffering, and lost enjoyment of life, and $200,000 in the form of past and future lost wages while she is undergoing various therapies.
Maratita’s claims exceed the statutory cap of $100,000, and she is contending that the statutory cap is unconstitutionally low and will seek relief from the limitation.
On March 18, 2022, the AG denied Maratita’s claim, thus fulfilling her obligation to exhaust administrative remedies before filing a suit in court, her lawsuit stated.
DUI conviction
The lawsuit also alleged that Dr. Hiesterman was convicted of a DUI in Michigan in 2006 and another DUI in Idaho in 2011.
The lawsuit stated that Dr. Hiesterman’s medical license was suspended on Oct. 1, 2015, in the state of Washington for his inability to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety, according to the findings of the Department of Health, Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery.
There was a lawsuit filed against him in 2016 for surgery complications caused by his inability to perform adequate services due to his alcohol addiction and use of alcohol while on call, the lawsuit stated.
It added that Dr. Hiesterman was unfit or incompetent to perform the work for which he was hired to perform.
“A routine background check by [the local hospital, the Commonwealth Health Center] would reveal Dr. Hiesterman’s possible addiction to alcohol and his inability to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety. CHC knew or should have known that Dr. Hiesterman was unfit or incompetent and CHC created a particular risk of harm to others by hiring Dr. Hiesterman.”
Dr. Hiesterman’s unfitness or incompetence caused actual harm to the plaintiff, the lawsuit stated.
“CHC’s negligence in hiring Dr. Hiesterman was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harm, and there is a direct and proximate causation between CHC’s negligence in hiring Dr. Hiesterman, and the damage plaintiff suffered,” the lawsuit added.
