March 29, 2024

Doctor on the run. . .

Weinberger disappeared while on vacation in Greece in 2004, as the accusations against him mounted. He became the subject of an international dragnet and authorities eventually tracked him down as he camped on an Italian mountainside in December 2009.

Dr. Mark Weinberger was on the run for five years after failing to correctly diagnose a female patient and being accused of health care fraud. He did not diagnose her with lung cancer and she died in 2004. Weinberger subsequently went on vacation to Greece in 2004 where he disappeared. Both Weinberger and a physician’s assistant were sued for negligence, which resulted in the patient’s death.

The claim is that Weinberger and his physician’s assistant did not comply with the standard of care required when treating a patient. Prior to trial, a state medical review panel unanimously determined the same. The victim’s attorney argues that her lung cancer was foreseeable and preventable.

At the same time, Weinberger is also being sentenced on 22 counts of health-care fraud. He billed two-dozen patients’ insurance companies for surgical procedures that never took place. Weinberger used this money to finance a Chicago condominium, daily limo rides to his office and a yacht. Not only did he bill insurance companies for surgeries that didn’t take place, but he also performed unnecessary surgeries on his patients.

Weinberger performed one of these unnecessary surgeries on the patient in this case—a sinus surgery. Testimony from Dr. Dennis Han, an otolaryngologist testified at trial that Weinberger was “more than qualified to pick up on this cancer on the first visit.” The defense attorney argued that Weinberger only recommended surgery for the patient after giving her antibiotics, which were not successful.

Facing a federal lawsuit filed by his malpractice insurance provider, along with more than 350 state medical malpractice suits, Weinberger sits in jail while this trial takes place. The insurance provider alleges Weinberger breached his contract by becoming an international fugitive. Once the breach occurred, Weinberger became liable for the hundreds of malpractice cases.

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