Doctor Sued Over 40 Times for Malpractice; State FINALLY Suspends License

I have posted a few times before about the dangers of cosmetic surgery and the overzealousness of cosmetic surgeons attempting to perform surgeries beyond their skill level or out of their area of expertise; for example, anesthesia.  Granted, there are some really fantastic plastic surgeons with exception nursing and support staffs.  Moreover, it is one of the most difficult and sought after residency programs a medical student can obtain.
            However, cosmetic surgery also has some very poor physicians.  Dr. Robert Cattani out of Staten Island has been sued over 40 times, but the New York State Health Department has yet to do anything until now.  Some of his medical malpractice lawsuits include blinding a patient in one eye in 2005, causing life-threatening blood loss during a tummy tuck surgery, and perforating a patient’s bowel during a 2007 liposuction.  In other surgeries he has caused horrific scaring and even prevented emergency assistance to a patient during a tummy tuck where he almost killed the patient when his kidneys started to fail.
            Finally, last month the New York State Department of Health—who also deals with complaints against physicians—suspended the doctor’s license saying that his practice “constitutes an imminent danger to [the] health of the people of this state.” 
            My issue is, why did this doctor—or ANY doctor—gets through 40 medical malpractice lawsuits before having his or her license suspended?!  There needs to be more aggressive oversight where if there are excessive complaints and lawsuits filed against a doctor, the Department of Health should act on it.  Well, maybe not even excessive; maybe just MULTIPLE complaints within a certain timeframe, i.e. 2, 3, 4, maybe 5 all within a tight timeframe.  I think we should be more aggressive to protect the rest of us from these horrific medical malpractice incidents and unnecessary harm.
            But what do you think?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@mmolaw.net.  You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.