A Maine man’s leg was amputated above the knee after a Northern Light Health surgeon failed to evaluate the man in person, a lawsuit said.
Joshua Berube, 40, of Charlotte had his left leg amputated above the knee in 2023 at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. That amputation was because of negligence by hospital staff, a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Penobscot County Superior Court said.
The hospital, an on-call surgeon and family nurse practitioner did not adequately evaluate and treat Berube after he arrived at EMMC on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, the lawsuit said. The failure to diagnose and treat Berube’s compartment syndrome meant the leg muscle died and he needed the limb amputated.
“There’s not a day that goes by that Josh doesn’t deal with the fallout from the care that he received at Eastern Maine Medical Center,” his attorney Travis Brennan said. “When he looks down, he can see that his leg was amputated above the knee.”
Northern Light and the medical staff were negligent in Berube’s treatment and are liable for his permanent injuries, including the amputation, the lawsuit said. Berube is not seeking a specific amount of money, but instead asks a judge to award compensatory damages.
The health system does not comment on pending litigation, spokesperson Suzanne Spruce said.
Berube’s pain started at 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 26. He was taken by ambulance to Calais Community Hospital.
A doctor at the hospital documented concern that Berube had compartment syndrome, which requires surgical intervention. Calais did not have surgical coverage, the lawsuit said.
He was transferred to EMMC and arrived at 2:18 p.m. that same day, the lawsuit said.
Kathleen Forti-Gallant, a family nurse practitioner, examined Berube in the emergency room and spoke with Dr. Carmen Crofoot, who was on call for orthopaedic surgery. They diagnosed Berube with a skin infection, not compartment syndrome, the lawsuit said.
Berube was transferred from Calais for a surgical emergency but he was never evaluated by the on-call surgeon, Brennan said. Crofoot never evaluated Berube and never came into the hospital to see him, Brennan said.
A quick diagnosis and treatment is important with compartment syndrome to try to prevent the muscle from dying, Brennan said. The more time that passes, the more muscle is likely to die.
Berube trusted that the transfer to EMMC was going to help his serious condition, Brennan said.
“I think he feels like that trust was misplaced given that he was never evaluated by the on-call orthopedic surgeon,” Brennan said.
Forti-Gallant and Crofoot’s shifts ended the next morning, Aug. 27. Before ending her shift, a nurse practitioner documented that Berube had cellulitis and worsening pain.
Dr. Rajendra Tripathi, an orthopedic surgeon, took over Berube’s care on Sunday and diagnosed him with compartment syndrome, the lawsuit said.
At 1:31 p.m., nearly a full day after Berube was admitted to EMMC, the doctor performed an emergency surgical procedure to relieve the pressure in the leg, the lawsuit said. There was dead muscle in the calf at the time of the procedure.
It’s telling that the new doctor immediately took Berube to surgery to try to relieve the pressure, Brennan said.
“At that point it was too late and the damage was irreversible at that point,” Brennan said.
Three days after Berube woke up in pain, his leg was amputated above the knee.
After the surgery, Berube made a complaint to the hospital, saying he should have been seen by a surgeon, Brennan said. Northern Light responded saying that it’s expected that a surgeon evaluates someone in person after a transfer like Berube’s.
However, the health system told Berube there was no way to say if an in-person evaluation would have made a difference in the case, Brennan said.
“We strongly disagree because compartment syndrome is something that every hour makes a difference,” Brennan said.
The roughly 20-hour delay allowed the compartment syndrome to worsen, which led to the irreversible damage and the amputation, Brennan said.