Ethical Side Effects

We are back from our hiatus this week to discuss the Andrews family IVF mishap. After giving birth to a healthy baby girl in October 2004 using IVF, the Andrews family is ecstatic. However, come a few years later, they are left to file a lawsuit after learning that Thomas Andrews was not actually the biological father. For a full list of all episode references and pictures, visit our case files and pictures page! https://www.ethicalsideeffects.com/episode-case-files Buy Merch, Subscribe, &...

* **HIATUS ALERT: Due to Lillee's impending graduation, honors thesis due date, and our move to Baltimore, we will be on hiatus until May 20th!*** We bring an extra episode this week for our Ethical Side Effects board members wanting to get some updates on the SaTH Maternity Scandal. On March 30, 2022, the Ockenden Review posted its final update of findings and the guidelines they are in the process of implementing to ensure the tragedies that have been overlooked for decades are prevented...

After being arrested on nine different charges ranging from second-degree murder to elder abuse, Thomas McNeese Keller, a former neurosurgeon and pain management specialist in Santa Rosa, California, is left to face a jury of his peers in 2020. The partial verdict these jurors return though might just leave you with more questions than answers. For a full list of all episode references and pictures, visit our case files and pictures page!...

We take a deep dive this week into the various medical malpractice incidences of Dr. Berto Lopez, a former OB/GYN in West Palm Beach, Florida. From maternal and infant mortality to botched circumcisions, this case will have you wondering how this negligent physician got away with his crimes for so long without getting his license revoked. The answer to that question though may just leave you more disappointed than relieved. For a full list of all episode references and pictures, visit our...

*Due to technological issues, Lillee & TJ will be releasing their next episode on March 25th! We apologize for the unexpected hiatus, but we are excited to get back to you soon!* This week we discuss the unfortunate case of Colton Read, the former airman who went to get his gallbladder removed at Travis Air Force base, but left with both of his legs removed instead. After this tragic incident, Colton is medically discharged from the military with no malpractice compensation. This leaves him...

Donda West goes in for plastic surgery under Dr. Jan Adams on November 9th, 2007. The next day, her loved ones become frantic as Donda stops breathing and dies shortly after arriving at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center. As the coroner is left with deciding whether the cause of death was Dr. Adams or Donda's pre-existing health conditions, we see a lot of dirty laundries aired out that tell us it might just be a little of both. For a full list of all episode references and pictures,...

Dr. George Blatti shocked Long Island, New York in 2019 when he was arrested for selling various prescription opioids out of parking lots for extra cash. In 2021, his prescription pad was found to be even more of a lethal weapon when five of his patients end up dead from overdoses. Now, this serial killer physician faces the possibility of a life sentence for over 50 charges ranging from the illegal sale of prescription drugs to second-degree murder. For a full list of all episode...

In July 1951, Phyllis Spath gave birth in Fremont, Nebraska. Nine years later, she discovers part of a suturing needle was left inside her due to surgical mistakes made by the temporary physicians caring for her during labor. To receive compensation for her difficulties, Phyllis and her husband have to take the case all the way to the Nebraska Supreme Court to fight against the physicians, as well as the statute of limitations. Surgical Case Study Article:...

After the Stanton-Davies family's newborn daughter dies from a series of preventable medical errors, the parents urge the NHS to re-examine the many recent maternity ward incidents happening in the mid-2010s at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust. Upon re-opening these cases though, the NHS is left wondering how it can undo the harm brought onto thousands of families from immense systemic failures over the course of 40 years. *In honor of Black History Month, Ethical Side Effects will...

In observance of Black History Month, we want to share the infamous case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. In this episode, we discuss why it happened, what happened in the trials, how it managed to go on for so long, and what the lasting impact was for many minority groups in the U.S. in terms of physician trust and seeking medical services. In honor of Black History Month, Ethical Side Effects will be donating all proceeds to our podcast in February 2022 to Black Health, an...

In Part 2 of our two-part series on the Michael Jackson malpractice case, Dr. Murray is stripped of his medical license and sentenced to 4 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. But what about the previous physicians that prescribed the same various sedatives and propofol before Murray? As we discover just how far back MJ's addiction to sedatives and surgical anesthetics goes, we are left asking if a physician's oath to do no harm can be trumped by respect for patient autonomy. For a...

Kicking off 2022 after our brief New Year's holiday hiatus, we bring you the infamous malpractice case of Michael Jackson. In part 1, we discuss the events leading up to the King of Pop's death, the backstory of his personal physician at the time, Dr. Conrad Murray, and the series of missteps that led up to Jackson's death being labeled a homicide, rather than just the average malpractice crime. For a full list of all episode references and pictures, visit our case files and pictures page!...

This week we discuss the tragic case of Alex Koehne, the 15-year-old organ donor who was said to have died from bacterial meningitis on March 30, 2007. Yet, Stony Brook Hospital and Alex's parents are left shellshocked when an autopsy report yields a completely different diagnosis. Worst of all, healthcare professionals are left to clean up a deadly organ transplant overlooked by multiple hospital systems. ***Hiatus Alert*** Our next episode is scheduled for release on January 21st! We're...

In the spirit of the holiday season, we discuss two unfortunate malpractices cases that occurred on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The story of Tom Buckley's misdiagnosed stroke in 2001 and Emma Mejias's wrongful death in 2004 will have us all wondering how such well-trained medical professionals continuously miss the mark, resulting in such severe damages that are anything but jolly. For a full list of all episode references and pictures, visit our case files and pictures page!...

This week we unfold the unfortunate case of Darlene Hill, who went into the ER of Taylor Hospital in 2009 with abdominal pain and left without an appendix. Five months later, we learn that the proof is in the disappearing and reappearing gallbladder and that a $6 million settlement won't be enough to reverse the tragedy of CT mislabelling. *Correction!!! We have seen some articles with the radiologist's name being Dr. Chad Brecher, and in others as Dr. Chard Brecher. So, although we...

This week we discuss a grossly unhygienic international case starring Dr. Alan Hutchinson, a practicing dentist who was accused in 2007 of using dental tools to clean his ears and nailbeds, not washing his hands before examining patients, and not wearing gloves during dental operations. But the real question we are left wondering is: what in the world was that smell? chemical cleaner? or pee in the dental surgery sink? For a full list of all episode references and pictures, visit our case...

This week we discuss the case of Benjamin Houghton, an Air Force veteran diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1989. For fear of cancer returning after remission through chemotherapy, Benjamin decided to go forward with an operation to remove his atrophied left testicle. After going under the knife though, we find out that the healthy right testicle was removed, leading to a slew of health problems that only $200,000 in malpractice settlement could fix. For a full list of all episode...

Allan Navarro walks into the University Community Hospital Carrollwood emergency room while having a stroke, but left 5 and a half hours later with nothing but a sinusitis diagnosis, antibiotics, and Vicodin. When Allan is left permanently disabled from stroke-induced brain swelling the next day, everyone is left wondering how a stroke is so terribly misdiagnosed. However, we learn in this episode that the answer to this may just leave room for more questions... ***Holiday Hiatus*** - We...

This week we discuss the unfortunate case of Faith DeGrand. At 10-years-old, Faith underwent surgery to repair her worsening scoliosis but left the botched surgery with nothing but paralysis and incontinence. Seven years later, her case is finally settled for $135 million, but the road to get there was nothing short of a fiasco with Detroit Medical Center. For a full list of all episode references and pictures, visit our case files and pictures page!...

When famous actress and comedian Joan Rivers develops a sore throat and hoarse voice in 2014, she schedules an endoscopy and laryngoscopy at Yorkville Endoscopy outpatient clinic. What she didn't know is that these two minor procedures would cost her her life after going into cardiac arrest while under anesthesia. One year later, her daughter Melissa files a wrongful death lawsuit on the grounds of multiple malpractice findings during a long-term investigation about what went on in the...