Dr. WILLIAM LU, MD Medical Malpractice Cases, Lawsuits, and Complaints

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Phycicians Practice Address

Dr. WILLIAM LU, MD

1605 W. FAIRBANKS AVENUE

WINTER PARK , FL

32789

Orange

Court Case #

Indemnity Paid: $750,000.00

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Medical Malpractice Closed Claims Report

Department File Number :	M201576551
Claim Number :	14-0009
Date Submitted :	12/14/2015

Insurer Information

Insurer Name				Coverage Type
PHYSICIANS PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY RISK RETENTION GROUP, INC.				Primary
Insurer FEIN		Professional License Number
33-1010508
Insurer Contact Information
Type	First Name		MI	Last Name
Individual	Matt			Evans
Street Address
900 Hope Way
City				State	Zip
Altamonte Springs				FL	32714
Phone	Ext	Fax	E-Mail Address
(407) 357 - 2272			matt.evans@ahss.org

Insured Information

Type	First Name		MI	Last Name
Individual	William			Lu
Insurer Type		Street Address of Practice
Licensed		1605 W. Fairbanks Avenue
City		State	Zip Code	County
Winter Park		FL	32789	Orange
Policy Number		Per Claim Policy Limits		Aggregate Policy Limits
105442		$250,000		$750,000
Profession or Business			Other Profession or Business
Medical Doctor
License Number		Specialty Code & Classification		Certification Number
ME66562		Surgery - General

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
Hospital Inpatient Facility
Name of Institution		Code
FLORIDA HOSPITAL (ORLANDO)		100007
Location of Institutional Injury		Other Location of Institutional Injury
Operating Suite
Date of Occurrence		Date Reported to Insurer
6/27/2012		3/11/2014

Diagnostic Information

Final Diagnosis For Which Treatment Was Sought Including Patient's Actual Condition
Ms. Martinez is one of 154 claimants alleging they suffered injury following Dr. Lu's performance of a certain back procedure at Florida Hospital. The 154 Notices of Intent received to date indicate that each claimant presented to the physician with various complaints of either cervical and/or lumbar pain in their spines and/or body.
Operation, Diagnostic, Or Treatment Procedure Rendered Causing The Injury
The Fixation Procedure at issue is a type of Dynamic Spinal Stabilization procedure created by the physician utilizing Mitek anchors and a variety of flexible suture materials such as Arthrex and Mersilene. The anchors were believed to be implanted into the spine and were at times also secured with the use of an added fixative called "BMP" or Bone Morphogenic Protein. The suture materials, having been secured to the anchors, were believed to have been twisted and tied together utilizing a variety of surgical knot techniques created by the physician to form the flexible construct referred to as "cables" in order to stabilize the spine. The procedure, as designed by the physician, was believed to be an attempt to create an alternative to a traditional fusion of the spine which utilizes much larger rigid screws, plates, and/or rods which greatly restricts mobility and can result in disability. A list of a claimants is available on request.
Diagnostic Code :
Misdiagnosis Made, If Any, Of Patient's Actual Condition
*NR
Principal Injury Giving Rise To The Claim
154 claimants to date allege that each underwent one or multiple neurosurgical cervical and/or lumbar anchor fixation and decompression surgeries and their fixations allegedly slackened following the surgeries, which the physician described in his office Release From Vicarious Liability/Consent Form as "innovative", but which utilized a fixation system that is not FDA-approved for spines. Florida Hospital advised the physician to stop performing these procedures, including the expected follow-up procedures necessary to tweak/tighten-up the slackened/loosened hook, cable and anchor-fixation system.
Severity Of Injury
Temporary: Major - Burns, surgical material left, drug side effect, brain damage. Recovery delayed.

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			7/17/2015
Other Defendants Involved in this Claim
Orlando Neurosurgery Florida Hospital Orlando
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
7/17/2015

Financial Information

Was there a settlement Resulting in payment to the Plaintiff?

Yes

Indemnity Paid by Insurer on behalf of Insured

$750,000

Loss Adjust Expense Paid to Defense Counsel

$182,877

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

Comprehensive review of administrative and medical staff processes, with appropriate implementation and follow-up.

Updates

No updates found.

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

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Court Case # 06CA2310

Indemnity Paid: $86,000.00

Medical Malpractice Closed Claims Report

Department File Number :	M200747113
Claim Number :	05-0039
Date Submitted :	10/1/2007

Insurer Information

Insurer Name				Coverage Type
PHYSICIANS PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY RISK RETENTION GROUP, INC.				Primary
Insurer FEIN		Professional License Number
33-1010508
Insurer Contact Information
Type	First Name		MI	Last Name
Individual	Jack			Heda
Street Address
1806 N. Flamingo Road, Suite 339
City				State	Zip
Pembroke Pines				FL	33028
Phone	Ext	Fax	E-Mail Address
(954) 985 - 1165		(954) 212 - 0178	PPLRRG@bellsouth.net

Insured Information

Type	First Name		MI	Last Name
Individual	WILLIAM			LU
Insurer Type		Street Address of Practice
Licensed		1605 W. FAIRBANKS AVENUE
City		State	Zip Code	County
WINTER PARK		FL	32789	Orange
Policy Number		Per Claim Policy Limits		Aggregate Policy Limits
105441		$250,000		$750,000
Profession or Business			Other Profession or Business
Medical Doctor
License Number		Specialty Code & Classification		Certification Number
ME66562		Surgery - Neurology - Including Child

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
Emergency Room
Name of Institution		Code
FLORIDA HOSPITAL (ORLANDO)		100007
Location of Institutional Injury		Other Location of Institutional Injury
Operating Suite
Date of Occurrence		Date Reported to Insurer
11/25/2003		6/28/2005

Diagnostic Information

Final Diagnosis For Which Treatment Was Sought Including Patient's Actual Condition
Patient was referred by primary care physician, to Dr. Lu for recurrent severe low back pain radiating into her left hip, buttocks and legs.
Operation, Diagnostic, Or Treatment Procedure Rendered Causing The Injury
After evaluation Dr. Lu recommended a repeat laminectomy and foraminotomy of L4-S1. Patient was admitted to hospital for surgery on November 25, 2003. Dr. Lu performed the surgery without any complications. After surgery patient continued to progress satisfactory, but did experience low-grade fevers and constipation. On November 26, 2003, Dr. Lu added Rocephin to the Kefzol the patient was already receiving. Both antibiotics were continued through patient?s discharge. Dr. Lu monitored the patient through November 27, 2003. On November 28, 2003, Dr. Donald Behrmann, Dr. Lu?s partner took over coverage of the practices patients. Physician Assistant Shirley Baehr assisted Dr. Behrmann in monitoring the patient on a daily basis.
Diagnostic Code :
Misdiagnosis Made, If Any, Of Patient's Actual Condition
*NR
Principal Injury Giving Rise To The Claim
Patient had no bowel movements on November 29, 2003 and November 30, 2003. However, laxatives were ordered and the patient complained of diarrhea as of 1:30 p.m. on November 30, 2003. Discharge orders were given with instructions to follow-up with Dr. Lu. Patient claims to have experienced continuing severe diarrhea after discharge. Patient was readmitted to hospital on December 5, 2003. Patient was discharged from hospital on December 16, 2003 with a diagnosis of clostridium difficile toxin. Patient now complains of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome with 3-5 loose bowel movements/day and generalized chronic fatigue. Neither Shirley Baehr, PA-C nor Dr. Behrmann were advised of this continuing/worsening diarrhea.
Severity Of Injury
Permanent: Minor - Loss of fingers, loss or damage to organs.Includes non-disabling injuries.

Medical Malpractice Closed Claims Report

Legal Information

Date of Suit			Circuit Court Case Number
11/28/2005			06CA2310
County Suit Filed in			Date of Final Disposition
Orange			9/25/2007
Other Defendants Involved in this Claim

Stage of Legal System at which Settlement was Reached or Award Made
After court verdict and prior to filing of notice of appeal.
Final Method of Claim Disposition
Settled by parties
Court Decision			Other
Other			settled by parties
Arbitration
Claim not subject to Arbitration.
Date of Payment
9/26/2007

Financial Information

Was there a settlement Resulting in payment to the Plaintiff?

Yes

Indemnity Paid by Insurer on behalf of Insured

$86,000

Loss Adjust Expense Paid to Defense Counsel

$34,358

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

N/A

Updates

No updates found.

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

This page is not displaying certain sensitive information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Dr. WILLIAM LU, MD have any medical malpractice cases, lawsuits, or complaints?

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

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