Former lawmaker sues CHCC, official over left knee, leg infections

Former representative Ana S. Teregeyo is suing the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., CHCC chief executive officer Esther L. Muna, and some medical staff officers for alleged negligence that caused her left knee and leg to beoame infected, necessitating five more surgeries.

In a pro se complaint or without a lawyer, Teregeyo asked the Superior Court to hold the defendants liable to pay her in unspecified amount of damages for pain and suffering, mental anguish, and expenses.

Teregeyo said that on Nov. 2, 2013, she was admitted to the Commonwealth Health Center because of a shattered tibia bone.

She was treated by Dr. Grant Walker, a board certified orthopedic surgeon licensed by the CNMI to practice medicine.

Teregeyo was released on Nov. 27, 2013, and told to follow up in the orthopedic clinic of the hospital.

On Dec. 19, 2013, she had an orthopedic clinic follow up appointment, in which she saw Ben Hochhalter, an orthopedic physician’s assistant that the clinic staff referred to as Dr. Hochhalter.

In the subsequent visits, Teregeyo said Hochhalter, acting as CHCC employee, remained unsupervised by an orthopedic surgeon.

Teregeyo said Hochhalter took out the post-operative sutures too early, resulting on the gap in the incision to go untreated.

Hochhalter allegedly failed to obtain x-rays in a time frame consistent with the normal standard of care, even when the plaintiff complained that her leg was starting to angulate and that she felt that a bone was sticking out.

Hochhalter allegedly failed to take an x-ray of her leg for three months while she was complaining that her leg was starting to angulate as an infection continued eating away at the bone below and including her left knee.

Teregeyo said the infection of her knee necessitated six surgeries, including a full artificial replacement of her knee. She was confined to a wheelchair for 18 months.

Teregeyo said she had to be treated on the mainland, USA for 10 months, living in a low rent hotel room, while she received five additional surgeries at the University Medical Center, Las Vegas, Nevada.

And as a consequence, Teregeyo said she had to endure the stresses of having to beg and fight with CHCC’s administered Medical Referral Service for money to live.

Teregeyo said now she continues to suffer with chronic pain and that she can only walk approximately 200 yards and needs the assistance of a cane.

The former lawmaker said the care that she received from defendants fell below the applicable standard of care.

She pointed out she did not consent to the absence of her doctor for her entire post-operative care.

In fact, Teregeyo said, her doctor was due to leave in three weeks, leaving her without an orthopedic surgeon for post-operative care.

She said CHC did further cause reckless harm to her by holding out an orthopedic physician’s assistant (Ben Hochhalter) to be supervised by a competent supervisor well versed in the care of orthopedic surgery.

She said Hochhalter was not supervised by an orthopedic surgeon.

“Defendants’ negligence caused harm to her by not having her orthopedic surgeon doctor available to her post-operative care and thus, through willful malice, her left knee and leg became infected, destroying her knee joint and necessitating five more surgeries on the mainland,” she said.

Teregeo said CHCC, by way of its chief of staff, director of medical affairs and other officers, failed to act in a manner as set forth in the CHCC hospital bylaws, thus denying her orthopedic surgeon doctor the ability to care for her left knee and leg during her post-operative care recovery.