Maryland Lawsuits AgainstNorthwest Hospital Center

According to Maryland Judiciary Case Search, Northwest Hospital, entered with that exact spelling, has been sued for medical malpractice 48 times and for tort claims 5 times since 2012. The exact search criteria used on Maryland Judiciary Case Search is as follows:  Company: Northwest Hospital, Party Type: Defendant, Case Type: Civil (Medical Malpractice & Other Tort), Court System: Circuit Court only, County: Default All, Filing Date: 9/26/2012-06/15/2022.

Lawsuits Against Northwest Hospital 

In January 2018 a lawsuit was filed against Northwest Hospital alleging that its doctors perforated the esophagus of a patient, resulting in a massive infection that left him unable to swallow or ingest solid food. According to the suit, the patient was initially admitted to the hospital’s emergency room after suffering a seizure and convulsions. He underwent a series of tests and was determined to be neurologically stable. Over the next four days he received inpatient treatment and seemed to be making progress until a nurse discovered him barely breathing and unresponsive. He then began to experience a seizure that caused tongue lacerations, and doctors made the decision to intubate him based on his history of breathing difficulty due to snorting.

The suit contended that instead of adhering to the proper standard of care and calling an anesthesiologist with the necessary skills to intubate a patient with tongue injuries and a compromised airway, Northwest Hospital doctors asked a respiratory care practitioner (RCP) to perform the procedure. The RCP, who was not as well trained as an anesthesiologist in placing complex intubations, failed to successfully intubate the patient after three attempts. A physician’s assistant also tried and failed to complete the procedure. Doctors finally achieved success with a different intubation method and the patient was transferred to John’s Hopkins Bayview, where testing showed an infected pocket of fluid near his lungs. Further imaging revealed an esophageal perforation that had caused chest swelling and severe sepsis.

After Johns Hopkins Bayview doctors operated on the patient to clear the infection, he developed complications and was eventually discharged to a rehabilitation facility. There he continued to experience difficulty swallowing and was forced to rely on a feeding tube for nutrition, a life altering outcome of what the lawsuit claims was a preventable injury to his esophagus had Northwest Hospital doctors observed an appropriate standard of care.

Statistics on Northwest Hospital

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

• 7,752 Admissions
• 67,292 Outpatient Visits
• 75,044 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

History of Northwest Hospital  

The hospital was founded in 1962 as the Liberty Court Rehabilitation Center, a 30-bed facility designed to treat the growing Baltimore County community. By 1963 the center had changed its name to Baltimore County General, and over the next few years a hospital auxiliary group and the Baltimore County Hospital Foundation worked to secure funding for expansion of the campus. More beds were added, and in 1978 a four-floor inpatient wing was completed with capacity for 188 beds. The hospital was among the first in the nation to utilize the Friesen concept, a floor plan that emphasizes individual nursing alcoves outside patient rooms to enhance the caregiving experience.

During the 1990’s Baltimore County General underwent a series of changes, including a name change to Northwest Hospital Center and a multi-million-dollar expansion.  In 1998 it merged with Sinai Hospital to form LifeBridge Health, a non-profit healthcare system that has since absorbed several other facilities including Carroll Hospital of Westminster and Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital. An additional name change took effect in 2008, when the word “center” was dropped and the campus became Northwest Hospital. Today the hospital is one of the busiest acute care facilities in Baltimore County, maintaining 272 beds and treating 60,000 patients a year in its emergency room alone.

Some of the major personal injury attorneys that regularly sue Northwest Hospital for medical malpractice are: Schochor, Federico And Staton, P.A.; McCarthy, Winkelman, Mester & Offutt, LLP; and The Law Offices Of Christian A. Lodowski P.A. Although the hospital is located in Baltimore County, its parent corporation LifeBridge is based in Baltimore City. This geographic discrepancy can potentially allow cases against Northwest Hospital to be filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court, which is generally more favorable to malpractice plaintiffs than Baltimore County Circuit Court. If you or a loved one have been injured by Northwest Hospital, you should contact a personal injury lawyer to assess your claim.

Last updated June 16, 2022