Maryland Lawsuits AgainstHOWARD COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL INC

According to Maryland Judiciary Case Search, Howard County General, entered with that exact spelling, has been sued for medical malpractice 57 times and for tort claims 3 times since 2012. The exact search criteria used on Maryland Judiciary Case Search is as follows:  Company: Howard County General, Party Type: Defendant, Case Type: Civil (Medical Malpractice & Other Tort), Court System: Circuit Court only, County: Default All, Filing Date: 9/26/2012-08/17/2022.

Howard County General Hospital in the News

According to a lawsuit filed in 2014, Baltimore resident Joyce Ferguson was admitted to the hospital’s emergency room complaining of extreme pelvic pain. Doctors treated her pain but were unable to determine its origin, and she was discharged. She returned to the emergency room when her pain persisted and was again sent home without a diagnosis. On her third visit to Howard County General’s emergency room for the same issue, doctors reiterated that they could not locate the source of her pain and prepared her for discharge. It wasn’t until Ferguson nearly lost consciousness on a stretcher that she was finally admitted for treatment. During an exam it was discovered that her uterine tissue was badly infected and causing severe sepsis. What transpired next was a tragedy that could have been prevented had Howard County General doctors observed standard care protocols, as alleged by the claim Ferguson filed against Johns Hopkins Health System, the corporation that owns the hospital.

The suit contended that Ferguson’s sepsis triggered massive organ failure so severe that her extremities were deprived of blood flow. As a result her arms and legs developed gangrene that required amputation of all four limbs. Ferguson and her attorneys alleged that the devastating disfigurement of an amputation could have been prevented had Howard County General doctors attempted to properly diagnose her pain. As further asserted by the claim, ultrasounds performed on Ferguson during her emergency room visits indicated an abnormally large sac of fluid in her abdominal region. However, attending physicians neglected to investigate further with a routine pelvic examination that likely would have revealed the extent of her uterine infection and allowed for early intervention before gangrene set in.

History of Howard County General Hospital 

The origins of the facility date to 1970, when ground broke for the construction of Columbia Medical and Clinic Foundations Center. The 59-bed short stay hospital was designed for a select group of visitors: those in need of emergency medical services, patients of Howard County physicians serving as hospital staff members, and members of an insurance provider called the Columbia Medical Plan. After the doors opened in 1973, however, it became clear that the rest of the Howard County population was in desperate need of an acute care institution. By 1974 the hospital was renamed Howard County General Hospital and offered services to anyone in the rapidly growing community.

A private, non-profit hospital, the Howard County General Hospital campus has expanded over the decades into a 264-bed, four story facility with almost 2,000 employees. Its extensive obstetrics and outpatient rehabilitation programs are recognized throughout the region, and it was the site of Howard County’s first cardiac catheterization lab. In 1998 the hospital joined the Johns Hopkins Health System, a network of medical facilities in Baltimore and surrounding counties.

Statistics on Howard County General Hospital

According to Baltimore Business Journal, in 2020, the following was true:

• 17,039 Admissions
• 79,960 Outpatient Visits
• 96,999 Admissions and Outpatient visits

This information is from “Hospitals, Ranked by Admissions at Hospitals in Greater Baltimore in 2020” written by Giacomo Bologna, Baltimore Business Journal Book of Lists 2021-2022

Some of the major personal injury attorneys that regularly sue Howard County General Hospital for medical malpractice are: Gilman & Bedigian, LLC; Law Office of David Ellin, P.C.; and Schochor And Staton, P.A. As the hospital is based in Columbia, malpractice cases against it tend to be filed in Howard County Circuit Court. However, this may not be the only option. Since the hospital is owned by the Baltimore City based Johns Hopkins Health System, there are potential scenarios where a claim could be filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court. A good attorney will explore this alternative as Baltimore City is considered one of the more favorable venues for malpractice plaintiffs in Maryland. If you or a loved one have been injured by Howard County General Hospital, you should contact a personal injury lawyer to assess your claim.

Last updated August 17, 2022