Class action suit filed against University of New Mexico Hospital over decades-long mistreatment of child cancer cases

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1 Leventhal, Brown & Puga, P.C. Will Ferguson & Associates News Release For Immediate Release: October 1 st, 2013 Contact: Jim Puga (303) Adrian Vega (505) Class action suit filed against University of New Mexico Hospital over decades-long mistreatment of child cancer cases University Hospital sued for lack of institutional control over pediatric cancer program causing hundreds of injuries and deaths to New Mexico children ALBUQUERQUE (Oct. 1 st, 2013) More than 20 years of incompetent cancer treatment at the University of New Mexico Hospital led to the death or injury of hundreds children, according to a class-action lawsuit filed today. The case, filed in Bernalillo County District Court, could cost New Mexico taxpayers as much as $100 million dollars, according to an analysis by the State of New Mexico, which owns and operates UNMH. The lawsuit alleges hundreds of patients and families suffered injuries starting in 1977 by the then-head of the Pediatric Cancer Unit Dr. Marilyn Duncan, who was forced to give up her medical license following disclosure of her incompetent treatment practices. The lawsuit charges that hundreds of children who might have survived or been cured of cancer instead died or were harmed by substandard care. The suit seeks an injunction requiring UNMH to implement adequate supervision and oversight practices in the future, and reimbursement for economic losses and harms to the improperly treated children and their families. An investigation of medical records by plaintiffs experts established that patients were given incorrect doses of chemotherapy, drugs were compounded improperly, patients were not given proper medications and treatments, patients were given substandard care, and patients were released without adequate instructions or arrangements for their continued care. The lawsuit names as the defendant the Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico. Plaintiffs are cancer survivors and their families, and the families of children who died. The case was filed by attorneys Jim Puga of Leventhal, Brown & Puga of Denver and Adrian Vega of Will Ferguson & Associates of Albuquerque. A 2012 actuarial study commissioned by the State of New Mexico found that the state may have to pay as much as $120 million for an estimated 101 new medical malpractice claims that could be part of a potential class action.

2 Puga said he the suit should be a wake-up call to similarly errant medical institutions nationwide that they risk being held accountable for mismanagement. For decades the University of New Mexico Hospital turned a blind eye to the continuing disaster of its pediatric cancer program, and the lawsuit we ve filed today is about more than just compensation it s about accountability, Puga said. What the defendants were doing for years is horribly wrong on two levels: it cruelly victimized a defenseless population, and then ignored the harm it caused. It s my hope that the class action we re pursuing will be a wake up call to facilities nationwide that they, too, risk being held to account if they engage in similarly unlawful conduct. If successful, the members of the class will claim reimbursement of the amounts they spent to overcome the harms and losses caused by the improper care they received. The lawsuit additionally seeks injunctive relief to require the UNMH to put into place adequate institutional controls and oversight to prevent a reoccurrence of the tragedy, Puga said. UNMH officials disclosed in 1998 that children appeared not to have been given the newest drug therapies for acute lymphoblastic leukemia from 1989 to October Subsequent investigation revealed the pattern of malpractice under Dr. Duncan began in An Albuquerque Journal investigative series published in the fall of 2000 revealed that nationally about three out of four children treated for leukemia were still alive after 5 years. At UNMH during Dr. Duncan s tenure as head of the cancer unit, that number was two out of four. Lawsuits against UNMH and Dr. Duncan began to mount after the hospital announced in 1998 that about 110 children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia from 1989 to 1996 didn't receive recommended care. Duncan, who was chief of the UNM pediatric oncology clinic, contended the treatments she gave to children were medically appropriate and effective. She was forced to leave UNMH in 1998 and retired. She later surrendered her license to practice medicine in New Mexico. The case is: Rose Quintana, Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of David Quintana, on behalf of herself and ALL OTHERS SIMILARLY SITUATED, v. BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO, a body corporate of the State of New Mexico, for itself and its public operations including UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER and its components the UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HOSPITAL and UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. # # #

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