Two patients who filed medical malpractice lawsuits against a spine surgeon had their cases dismissed by the Ohio Supreme Court.
The patients claim they were injured during the medically unnecessary procedures performed by Dr. Atiq Durrani.
Durrani, who has had over 100 medical malpractice lawsuits filed against him, fled the United states in 2013 to avoid prosecution. His aggressive and often experimental surgeries had been questioned and criticized by other surgeons at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where he worked in 2009.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the two patients waited too long to refile their cases when they tried to move them from Butler County to Hamilton County.
It is likely that more will be denied the ability to sue Durrani in the coming months and years.
Patients have four years to file a claim against a health care provider, an amount of time that many feel is too short. In some cases, injury from medical malpractice may not present itself for years, and sometimes, victims need time to compile evidence and begin their lawsuit.
It is crucial that victims of medical malpractice contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible, to avoid situations like this.
Hundreds of Durrani’s former patients claim malpractice, and many may never see justice.