Dr. THOMAS FIALA, MD Medical Malpractice Cases, Lawsuits, and Complaints

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Phycicians Practice Address

Dr. THOMAS FIALA, MD

220 E. Central Pkway

Altamonte Springs, FL

32701

Seminole

Court Case #

Indemnity Paid: $250,000.00

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Medical Malpractice Closed Claims Report

Department File Number :	M201884444
Claim Number :	164403
Date Submitted :	3/1/2018

Insurer Information

Insurer Name				Coverage Type
NORCAL MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY				Primary
Insurer FEIN		Professional License Number
94-2301054
Insurer Contact Information
Type	First Name		MI	Last Name
Individual	Richard			Petersen
Street Address
4651 Salisbury Rd. #410
City				State	Zip
Jacksonville				FL	32256
Phone	Ext	Fax	E-Mail Address
(904) 309 - 8142		(904) 394 - 7134	rpetersen@norcal-group.com

Insured Information

Type	First Name		MI	Last Name
Individual	Thomas			Fiala
Insurer Type		Street Address of Practice
Licensed		220 E. Central Pkway
City		State	Zip Code	County
Altamonte Springs		FL	32701	Seminole
Policy Number		Per Claim Policy Limits		Aggregate Policy Limits
723318N		$250,000		$750,000
Profession or Business			Other Profession or Business
Medical Doctor
License Number		Specialty Code & Classification		Certification Number
ME74474		Surgery - Plastic

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Medical Malpractice Closed Claims Report

Injured Person Information

First Name	MI	Last Name		Date of Birth

Street Address			Gender	County where Injury Occurred
			F	Orange
City			State	Zip Code

Location where injury occured		Other location where injury occured
Physician's Office
Name of Institution		Code

Location of Institutional Injury		Other Location of Institutional Injury
Recovery Room
Date of Occurrence		Date Reported to Insurer
7/12/2017		7/24/2017

Diagnostic Information

Final Diagnosis For Which Treatment Was Sought Including Patient's Actual Condition
The decedent suffered complications after cosmetic procedures resulting in death.
Operation, Diagnostic, Or Treatment Procedure Rendered Causing The Injury
Plaintiff was a 68 year old female patient who underwent cosmetic surgery at Preferred Plastic Surgery of Orlando on 07/12/17; the patient/decedent had an eyelid tuck, face lift, and chemical peel; she underwent anesthesia and post-op was checked on by Dr. Fiala and an anesthesiologist. The patient was initially monitored by a PACU-trained RN, for the first 90 minutes,before being signed over to the extended stay LPN. Thereafter, an LPN was charged to monitor the plaintiff; at 1825 hours, the patient initially complained of nausea and her O2 saturations were at 94%. She remained restless and O2 saturations dropped from 88% to 79%. The nurse then placed a mask and the saturation climbed back up to 83%. However, the patient's heart rate dropped to 54 and the patient became lethargic. Narcan was then administered.Despite the initial reaction of the patient, the monitoring nurse did not call '911' until 1917 hours. At the same time '911' was called, Dr. Fiala arrived after being alertedby his answering service and he immediately attempted to perform CPR; The patient was resuscitated, and had returned to normal sinus rhythm in the ER at Florida Hospital. She did not, however, regain consciousness. Neurological workup in the ICU revealed significant ischemic brain injury. She expired the next day, after being removed from life support
Diagnostic Code :
Misdiagnosis Made, If Any, Of Patient's Actual Condition
*NR
Principal Injury Giving Rise To The Claim
Plaintiff was a 68 year old female patient who underwent cosmetic surgery at Preferred Plastic Surgery of Orlando on 07/12/17; the patient/decedent had an eyelid tuck, face lift, and chemical peel; she underwent anesthesia and post-op was checked on by Dr. Fiala and an anesthesiologist. The patient was initially monitored by a PACU-trained RN, for the first 90 minutes,before being signed over to the extended stay LPN. Thereafter, an LPN was charged to monitor the plaintiff; at 1825 hours, the patient initially complained of nausea and her O2 saturations were at 94%. She remained restless and O2 saturations dropped from 88% to 79%. The nurse then placed a mask and the saturation climbed back up to 83%. However, the patient's heart rate dropped to 54 and the patient became lethargic. Narcan was then administered.Despite the initial reaction of the patient, the monitoring nurse did not call '911' until 1917 hours. At the same time '911' was called, Dr. Fiala arrived after being alertedby his answering service and he immediately attempted to perform CPR; The patient was resuscitated, and had returned to normal sinus rhythm in the ER at Florida Hospital. She did not, however, regain consciousness. Neurological workup in the ICU revealed significant ischemic brain injury. She expired the next day, after being removed from life support
Severity Of Injury
Permanent: Death.

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Medical Malpractice Closed Claims Report

Legal Information

Date of Suit			Circuit Court Case Number
			*NR
County Suit Filed in			Date of Final Disposition
*NR			2/28/2018
Other Defendants Involved in this Claim

Stage of Legal System at which Settlement was Reached or Award Made
Settlement Reached Prior to Pre-Suit Period
Final Method of Claim Disposition
Settled by parties
Court Decision			Other
No Court Proceedings.
Arbitration
Claim not subject to Arbitration.
Date of Payment
2/12/2018

Financial Information

Was there a settlement Resulting in payment to the Plaintiff?

Yes

Indemnity Paid by Insurer on behalf of Insured

$250,000

Loss Adjust Expense Paid to Defense Counsel

All Other Loss Adjustment Expense Paid

Injured Person's Total Non-Economic Loss

Deductible

Injured Person's Total Economic Loss

	Incurred to Date	Anticipated
Medical Expense	$0	$0
Wage Loss	$0	$0
Other Expenses	$0	$0

Safety Management Steps Taken by Insured to Make Similar Occurrence Less Likely

Circumstances of the claim were discussed with Risk Management & the Insured.

Updates

No updates found.

*NR: Prior to 04/28/1999 this field was not required in submitted claims.

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Court Case # 2017-CA-001659

Indemnity Paid: $0.00

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Medical Malpractice Closed Claims Report

Department File Number :	M201887380
Claim Number :	161484
Date Submitted :	12/20/2018

Insurer Information

Insurer Name				Coverage Type
NORCAL MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY				Primary
Insurer FEIN		Professional License Number
94-2301054
Insurer Contact Information
Type	First Name		MI	Last Name
Individual	Richard			Petersen
Street Address
4651 Salisbury Rd. #410
City				State	Zip
Jacksonville				FL	32256
Phone	Ext	Fax	E-Mail Address
(904) 309 - 8142		(904) 394 - 7134	rpetersen@norcal-group.com

Insured Information

Type	First Name		MI	Last Name
Individual	Thomas		G	Fiala
Insurer Type		Street Address of Practice
Licensed		220 E. Central Pkway
City		State	Zip Code	County
Altamonte Springs		FL	32701	Seminole
Policy Number		Per Claim Policy Limits		Aggregate Policy Limits
723318N		$250,000		$750,000
Profession or Business			Other Profession or Business
Medical Doctor
License Number		Specialty Code & Classification		Certification Number
ME74474		Surgery - Plastic

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Medical Malpractice Closed Claims Report

Injured Person Information

First Name	MI	Last Name		Date of Birth

Street Address			Gender	County where Injury Occurred
			M	Flagler
City			State	Zip Code

Location where injury occured		Other location where injury occured
Patient's Home
Name of Institution		Code

Location of Institutional Injury		Other Location of Institutional Injury

Date of Occurrence		Date Reported to Insurer
5/20/2013		2/17/2017

Diagnostic Information

Final Diagnosis For Which Treatment Was Sought Including Patient's Actual Condition
Patient alleged that the silicone breast implants used by Dr. Fiala caused him anxiety, depression, joint pain, immune suppression, adrenal gland failure and bruising. The former patient is a male who had not undergone transgender. However, a pathologist who subsequently reviewed the subsequently removed implants testified on 06/19/18 that the silicone implants that were visualized and were grossly intact. He also noted that there was no rupture, no extra capsulary silicone noted and no tear of the implants. Finally, he testified that if any of these conditions were present he would have noted it in his report.A defense standard of care expert supported Dr. Fiala.
Operation, Diagnostic, Or Treatment Procedure Rendered Causing The Injury
Patient alleged that the silicone breast implants used by Dr. Fiala caused him anxiety, depression, joint pain, immune suppression, adrenal gland failure and bruising. The former patient is a male who had not undergone transgender. However, a pathologist who subsequently reviewed the subsequently removed implants testified on 06/19/18 that the silicone implants that were visualized and were grossly intact. He also noted that there was no rupture, no extra capsulary silicone noted and no tear of the implants. Finally, he testified that if any of these conditions were present he would have noted it in his report.A defense standard of care expert supported Dr. Fiala.
Diagnostic Code :
Misdiagnosis Made, If Any, Of Patient's Actual Condition
*NR
Principal Injury Giving Rise To The Claim
Patient alleged that the silicone breast implants used by Dr. Fiala caused him anxiety, depression, joint pain, immune suppression, adrenal gland failure and bruising. The former patient is a male who had not undergone transgender. However, a pathologist who subsequently reviewed the subsequently removed implants testified on 06/19/18 that the silicone implants that were visualized and were grossly intact. He also noted that there was no rupture, no extra capsulary silicone noted and no tear of the implants. Finally, he testified that if any of these conditions were present he would have noted it in his report.A defense standard of care expert supported Dr. Fiala.
Severity Of Injury
Emotional Only - Fright, no physical damage

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Medical Malpractice Closed Claims Report

Legal Information

Date of Suit			Circuit Court Case Number
7/13/2017			2017-CA-001659
County Suit Filed in			Date of Final Disposition
Seminole			12/20/2018
Other Defendants Involved in this Claim

Stage of Legal System at which Settlement was Reached or Award Made
Settlement Reached Prior to Pre-Suit Period
Final Method of Claim Disposition
No Payment Made
Court Decision			Other
Other			No payment made by insurer
Arbitration
Claim not subject to Arbitration.
Date of Payment

Financial Information

Was there a settlement Resulting in payment to the Plaintiff?

Indemnity Paid by Insurer on behalf of Insured

Loss Adjust Expense Paid to Defense Counsel

$45,046

All Other Loss Adjustment Expense Paid

Injured Person's Total Non-Economic Loss

Deductible

Injured Person's Total Economic Loss

	Incurred to Date	Anticipated
Medical Expense	$0	$0
Wage Loss	$0	$0
Other Expenses	$0	$0

Safety Management Steps Taken by Insured to Make Similar Occurrence Less Likely

Facts of the case were discussed with the insured & risk management

Updates

No updates found.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Dr. THOMAS FIALA, MD have any medical malpractice cases, lawsuits, or complaints?

Dr. THOMAS FIALA, MD has at least 2 medical malpractice case(s), lawsuit(s), or complaint(s).

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