CHARLESTON – A class action lawsuit claims doctors at Charleston Area Medical Center performed “unnecessary and invasive” hernia surgeries on patients.
The complaint, which originally was filed April 23, says the hernia surgeries were performed during bariatric surgeries and that the defendants failed to obtain informed consent from the plaintiffs. In fact, the complaint says the defendants concealed that these procedures were performed.
Lori Byrd and Michelle Thomas are the named plaintiffs in the complaint, which was amended May 9. The defendants in the Kanawha Circuit Court case are Charleston Area Medical Center, Dr. Robert B. Shin and Dr. Samuel Rossi.
Ben Salango
“We’ve been investigating this case for quite some time,” Ben Salango, one of the attorneys representing the class, told The West Virginia Record. We’ve received calls from numerous patients and reviewed many medical charts.
So far, I have not found a single bariatric procedure performed by Dr. Shin that did not also include a hernia repair. The chances of that happening are medically and statistically impossible.”
Some of the plaintiffs have received letters from CAMC in recent days notifying them that the paraesophageal hernia repair procedure they received “may not have been medically necessary.”
The letter goes on to say the patients nor their insurance companies will be charged for the hernia repair surgery. If insurance already has been charged, it says that charge will be reversed. It also tells the patients how they can file a grievance.
“We take this matter very seriously and have already taken affirmative steps to address this situation,” Dr. Michael Robie, vice president of ambulatory services, wrote in the letter. “We would welcome the opportunity to answer any questions you may have. …
“We sincerely apologize for this occurrence.”
diTrapano
L. Dante diTrapano also is representing the plaintiffs in the class action.
“Patients at our state’s largest hospital have an expectation that they are getting quality medical care delivered in an ethical manner,” he told The Record. “What CAMC authorized from Dr. Shin and Dr. Rossi for years in their surgical suites is an abomination and should not be tolerated anywhere. We are going to hold CAMC accountable for the betrayal of trust visited upon the citizens of West Virginia.”
According to the complaint, Byrd says she went to CAMC for bariatric surgery on March 1, 2024, by Shin. The operative report says Shin also performed a hiatal hernia repair with mesh “for the purpose of preempting post-operative complications related to bariatric surgery.”
“However, such post-operative complications would neither have been expected nor likely,” the complaint states. “Dr. Shin’s performance of a hiatal hernia repair with mesh on plaintiff Byrd … was not medically necessary.”
The complaint says Shin’s note about the hernia repair “served to conceal … she had received an invasive surgical procedure that was not medically necessary.”
Byrd says she didn’t consent to the procedure, and she says she now is at risk for future complications from it.
The complaint also says Shin “regularly and routinely” performed such concurrent hernia surgeries on patients during bariatric procedures. It also says Shin recently was fired by CAMC for this practice.
For Thomas, the complaint says she had bariatric surgery with Rossi on September 14, 2017. It says Rossi also performed a hiatal hernia repair with mesh on her, but he failed to identify a hiatal hernia is his operative report, failed to describe his surgical procedure and failed to report any medical basis for performing the hernia repair.
Again, the complaint says Rossi’s actions were meant to conceal from Thomas she had a medically unnecessary procedure, and it says Thomas is now at risk of future complications because of the surgery.
The complaint also says Rossi “regularly and routinely” performed such concurrent hernia surgeries on patients during bariatric procedures. It also says Rossi recently was fired by CAMC for these actions. It accuses Shin and Rossi of medical negligence, and it accuses CAMC of vicarious liability.
According to the complaint, the class could consist of several hundred, if not thousands, of former patients. It says that information could be obtained from CAMC records.
In addition to an order certifying the class, the plaintiffs seek compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by diTrapano, David H. Carriger and Timothy D. Houston of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston, by Salango of Salango Law in Charleston and by P. Gregory Haddad of Bailey & Glasser in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 25-C-541
