Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog | Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

Seven years after an 18-year-old Penn State freshman died during a liposuction, the Philadelphia doctor operating on her insisted that "The procedure was done properly," and accused the family of seeking money. However, the family insisted that they were never seeking money and that they would never have accepted an out-of-court settlement because they wanted to warn people away from the doctor who killed their daughter.

They say Dr. Richard Glunk, a veteran cosmetic surgeon, board-certified, killed their daughter, and say anything short of a criminal conviction falls short of justice for her. The mother accused the doctor, "You could have saved her life. You chose not to. We will never understand it to our dying breath why you didn't get a kid help when she needed it." The mother was referring to her pleas during the procedure that the doctor should call an ambulance when the girl began to show signs of complications.

The plaintiff's lawyer, describing the doctor's testimony, said, "The more he talked and said things that weren't supported by what other witnesses said and what the evidence was, they got angrier and angrier." The doctor was found to be operating without a license for an ambulatory surgical facility, which he said did not apply to his office.

The case reveals what is one of the chief reasons why people file medical malpractice lawsuits: the perceived arrogance of the medical profession. The doctor, refusing to admit a mistake, making his own interpretations of the law, and failing to call for help when necessary, showed the worst possible side of a medical god-complex, and also why doctors who admit their humanity lead to less medical malpractice suits. The jury was responding to his medical arrogance when it awarded $5.5 million in compensatory damages for the wrongful death of the young woman, and $15 million in punitive damages.

If you or a loved one have been hurt as a result of medical malpractice, but find that the doctor refuses to even describe what happened, let alone admit that what happened could be his or her fault in any way, often the only way for you to get the truth is to file a lawsuit. Contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP today for a free consultation.